i 

/ \ 







luFFALoBlf 

krairieiPalace 




WITH ThEAUTHOmyOF 

GEN'L WF.CODY (BUFFALO BILL ) 



KIALTO SERIES. No. 13. -TuiK-, il.J. Monthly. Subscription, $S. 00. Kiilenil 



"BUFFALO BILL" 

FROM PRAIRIE TO PALACE. 




'fiM: 



Buffalo Bill" 

JTrom prairie to |)alacc 

An Authentic History of the Wild West 



With Sketches, Stories of Adventure, and Anecdotes of 
''Buffalo Bin;' the Hero of the Plains 



COMPILED BY 



1/ 

JOHN M. BURKE ("ARIZONA JOHN") 



WITH THE AUTHORITY OF 



General W. F. Cody (" Buffalo Bill") 



CHICAGO AND NEW YORK ^J^Olj/ 

Rand, McNally &. Company, Publishers 

1893 



s 



Copyright, 1893, by Rand, McXally As Co. 



NOTE. 

The compiler of this book desires to give credit to General 
Dodge's "Thirty Years Among tlie Indians," and to the His- 
torical Publishing Company, for a few of the facts and inci- 
dents given in these pages. 

John M. Burke. 



DEDICATION 



THOSE PIONEERS OF PROGRESS 

WHO HAVE LED THE ADVANCE OF CIVILIZATION INTO SAVAGE 

LANDS, DEFYING DANGER, SUFFERING EVERY HARDSHIP, 

OVERCOMING ALL OBSTACLES, OFFERING LIFE 

AS A SACRIFICE WHEN CALLED UPON, 

THE ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES 
i dedicate this book. 

John M. Burke 




;?N«j<wi 






BUFFALO BILL. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER PAGE 

Compiler's Preface, - - - - - 1 1 

I. Introductory, ------ 13 

II. The Scout, ------- 20 

III. What Is a Cowboy? ----- 36 

IV. The Riders of the World, - - - - 44 
V. Indian Home Life, ----- 59 

VI. Expert Shooting, - - - - - - 71 

VII. A Most Famous Ride, - . - - jy 

VIII. Letters of Commendation from Prominent 

Military Men, 85 

IX. Buffalo Bill's Boyhood, - - - - 99 

X. Bill Kills His First Indian, - - - - 104 

XL The Boy Miner, - - - - - no 

XII. Story of the Pony Express, - - - - 113 

XIII. A Ride for Life, ----- 123 

XIV. Held up by Road Agents, - - - - 127 
XV. A Year of Adventures, - _ - - 132 

XVI. A Soldier of the Civil War, - - - - 140 

XVII. A Champion Buffalo Hunter, - - - 145 

XVIII. Scout, Guide, and Indian Fighter, - - - 151 

XIX. Buffalo Bill's Pards of the Plains, - - 159 

XX. Border Poetry, iSi 

XXI. From Prairie to Palace, - - - - 189 

XXII. The Wild West at Sea, 197 

(9) 



10 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER PAGE 

XXIII. A Royal Welcome, 207 

XXIV. A Visit from Queen Victoria, - - - 219. 
XXV. The Home Trail, 227 

XXVI. Swinging around Europe, . _ - - 232 

XXVII. The Last Indian War, - . - - 252 

XXVIII. Back to Europe, ------ 26a 

Appendix, ...-.- 269 

An Episode Since the Return I'rom Europe, - 273, 




COMPILER'S PREFACE 



An association of some thirty years with the subject of 
these pages, a familiarity with his history gained by oppor- 
tune meetings and conversations with comrades now living, 
and those since dead — who were witnesses of the events that 
assisted to make the individual prominent — makes me feel it a 
public duty to accede to the publisher's request to compile a 
short, sharp, and veracious account of the unique history of 
this picturesque character. 

Born at a time, and reared in an atmosphere, the most 
romantic and adventurous known in the history of our Amer- 
ican frontier, when the tidal wave of human progress, sweep- 
ing westward, was making history faster than the historians 
could record it — it was his fate to be in the field, and his fort- 
une to grasp the opportunities to meet the situation's require- 
ments, and, in the beaten path of what seemed ordinary daily 
duty, to rise, by reason of his sterling qualities, his daring, and 
his courage, to the distinction of a leader. 

So quickly was the history of the central West recorded, 
as to make the Great American Desert of our childhood seem 
almost a geographical mirage, a tale of the romancer. It 
would seem to be a fairy story were it not for the fact of 
its settlement, and the evidences of its now almost ancient 
civilization. 

The busy, hustling citizen of to-day scarcely has time ta 

think, and does not realize that the youths of the time of 

(11) 



12 compiler's preface. 

Benton, Beal, Fremont, Bridger, and Carson are the relicts of 
the perfected history and work that they inaugurated. 

One of the most picturesque characters that evoluted from 
the peculiar circumstances of the times is "Buffalo Bill," Gen. 
W. F. Cody, N. G. S. N. The romance, the fiction, woven 
around his personality is dispelled in the white light of stern 
and veritable facts, just as the golden rays of the morning sun 
drive the mist from the mountain-tops. 

The compiler of the accompanying pages has attempted 
to present to the reader, in a terse, compact compendium of 
facts, the story of a career that, if given in a detailed biography, 
would absorb volumes, believing that owing to his prominence 
at home and abroad the public desire some authentic knowl- 
edge of the notable events in his career. In fact, here are 
presented a few ])lain truths, unadorned, for the benefit of 
those too occupied to have heretofore learned the story and 
triumphs of the frontier lad of nine years, from the wild 
Western scenes of Kansas and Nebraska, from the prairies of 
the Platte to the parlors of the East and the palaces of 
Europe. 



"Buffalo Bill' 

FROM PRAIRIE TO PALACE 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Half a century or less ago, the people then active in the 
world were unable to move from place to place more rapidly 
than in the days before the Christian era. The fickle winds 
drove ships out of their course and baffled their efforts to hold 
on their way to their destination. On land the rapidity of 
progress from place to place was measured by the fleetness of 
a horse. The steam-engine was in its infancy; the telegraph 
and other electrical devices were only known through the 
fable of the singing tree and the talking fountain in the tales 
of the Arabian Nights; glittering gold still lay unheedred and 
unseen in the beds of California streams. 

The great peaks of the Rockies towered into the clouds, 
their grandeur and beauty unknown to a world which had 
not then heard the sound of the waters thundering down the 
cliffs of the Yosemite, a rival of Niagara. Amid the beau- 
ties of the Garden of the Gods reigned a stillness as profound 
as that which pervaded the Garden of Eden before the 
creation of man. 

(13) 



14 BUFFALO BILL. 

But already the fearless and restless white man was on 
discovery bent, and, with his face turned always toward the 
setting sun, one by one the glories of the continent were seen 
and heralded. 

Brev.-Capt. John C. Fremont of the United States Topo- 
graphical Engineers, with the famous Kit Carson as his guide, 
was exploring and opening up the great trail which was to 
connect the two oceans. 

The fur traders were settling in the Northwest, and Astoria 
was coming into notice, while the echoes of Bonneville's 
adventures were heard in the Eastern world. 

Among the men who found the East growing crowded was 
Isaac Cody, who was then living in Iowa. He was a fine type 
of the Western frontiersman, well educated, enterprising, and 
fearless. Leaving his home, with his family he started across 
the plains. His journey continued until he reached a point in 
Kansas near Fort Leavenworth, and here he made camp and 
proceeded to build a new home. 

"Little Billy" was then a boy, living the life and learn- 
ing the lessons of the plains, while Humboldt was wondering 
what secrets were hidden in the center of the continent, and 
the geographical societies of the world were speculating upon 
the mysteries that lay far beyond the banks of the ■' Father 
of Waters." 

At that time this region was as little known and as dark 
a continent as Africa before the courage of Stanley laid bare 
its conformation and geography. The Indians had not then 
been confined to reservations, but were fiercely resisting the 
encroachments of the white men upon their territory. They 
disputed, step by step, the advancement to the westward of 
the borders of civilization with a fiercer, because more igno- 



INTRODUCTORY. 15 

rant, determination to resist subjugation than is known in tlie 
history of the world. 

In this atmosphere, and amid such surroundings, this boy 
grew up, and his rapid development was a natural result of 
such conditions. Physical exercise in the open air developed 
his frame, and provided the steady hand and quick eye. 

Surrounded by enemies, he lived amid dangers so constant 
and ever-present that they became part of his daily life, and 
fear was unknown. Self-preservation taught him to oppose 
strategy with strategy, and to learn the wiles of the red inan 
in order that he might exist in his country, and study the 
habits of the animals infesting the country, for the dual pur- 
pose of avoiding danger and providing himself with food and 
raiment. At the same time this wild life broadened his moral 
nature, expanded his mind, and prepared it to receive great 
truths. Broad men are the product of broad countries; nar- 
rowness and prejudice are insular. 

Sir Charles Dilke has recorded the history of "Greater 
Britain," but during the lifetime of this frontier boy he has 
seen with his own eyes the growth of "Greater America." In 
the short span of a life still in its prime, he has seen the slow 
wagon-train crawling over the weary miles of wind-swept 
prairie harassed by Indians and other foes, and he has seen 
the long parallel iron rails push their way across the map of 
the continent until they span it from gulf to gulf and 
from ocean to ocean. The "prairie schooner" and the pony 
express have in his time given way to the Pullman coach and 
the electric wire. 

In his boyhood the strife and struggles, the perils and pri- 
vations, which had beset the Puritans in New England a cent- 
ury before, were being reenacted on the Western plains; and 



IG BUFFALO BILL. 

of this period in the development of our country this boy can 
truthfully say, "All of which I saw, and part of which I 
was." 

In later life, when great military commanders intrusted 
their lives, and those of their men, to his keeping, they did it 
with an unhesitating confidence, begotten of the knowledge 
that he was born and trained upon the spot; a veritable prod- 
uct of the soil. His father having died while he was still 
young, he matured early. His widowed mother taught the 
boy at her knee the elements of reading and writing, and thus 
laid the foundation of an education which has been completed 
in the school of the world. 

Living for years in cabins or tents, and oftener under the 
canopy of heaven, pursuing a career of independent activity 
which carried him through the various stages of cattle-herder, 
teamster, bronco "buster," wagon-master, stage-driver, pony- 
express rider, hunter, guide, scout, and soldier, he still found 
time to acquire an education which, added to his native refine- 
ment and gentleness of bearing, enables him to appear to 
advantage in any society or place. While perfection e.xists 
only in the other world, and is not claimed for him, the herder 
and scout has borne inspection, and passed muster, in the 
accepted centers of refinement and cultivation of the world. 

From the Rocky Mountains to the Colosseum at Rome is 
a "far cry," and yet that is the history of the settler's son now 
known around the world as Col. William F. Cody, or "Buffalo 
Bill." 

The pages of this book are not devoted to the recording 
of a legend wherein the untutored, wild, and reckless roamer 
of the plains has by chance, or the magic of phenomenal 
powers, won the open sesame to the grandeur of patriarchal 



INTRODUCTORY. 17 

palaces, but rather to the telling of how native courage and 
brilliant daring, combined with sincerity of purpose and purity 
of motive, have made savage warriors of the prairies to wel- 
come and appreciate the joys of peace, have opened in the heart 
of apparently desert places storehouses of wealth, and shown 
princely powers that manhood, prowess, and honor are found 
as truly on the prairies of the great West as in the centers of 
art and civilization. The sturdy hero of the plains has been 
met by gracious hands at the portals of the palace. 

The discovery that a new world existed on the western 
shores of the Atlantic was scarcely more a surprise to the 
grandees of the Old World, than the realization that far 
beyond the great Father of Walers there existed a country 
whose inhabitants were hunting buffaloes and living in rude 
tents on prairies and amid rugged mountains, which needed 
but the plow and the miner's pick for keys to unlock treas- 
uries filled with richer products and rarer gems than the bright 
gleam of the mythical Aladdin's lamp e'er shone upon. 

Now the world recognizes and gives tardy but sincere 
applause to the venturesome spirits that first directed the 
attention of the world to the grandeur and latent power of 
the great West. Occasionally a noble of the East, in search 
of sport and adventure, visited this new country and, return- 
ing, told of its vastness and magnificence. Romancers, upon 
a few facts, accepted with hesitation, built stories which, 
though thoroughly entertaining, were regarded as novels, 
never as histories. 

Taking up the thread of the beautiful story so graphic- 
ally told by the facile pen of Washington Irving in his narra- 
tion of the fur traders' trials, adventures, and discoveries, and 
weaving all into a contemporaneous history, our Cody and his 

2 



l8 BUFFALO BILI,. 

fellows have gathered togethcL" the living actual facts of the 
prairies, and held them up to the wondering, admiring gaze of 
the world in the court-yards of the palaces of Europe. The 
barefooted urchin, that, astride of his fleet-footed bronco, 
rode with a smile through every danger, carrying news and 
cheer from old homes in the East to the slrugglers of the 
prairies, has since been accorded courtly welcome by crowned 
monarchs, to whom he' has exhibited in triumph trophies of 
American valor and American enterprise. Kingly warriors 
have dragged captives chained to their chariot-wheels as 
proofs of their victories; subjects have shouted loud pagans of 
praise and glory of their lords and princes returning as victors; 
but when, save in the history of William F. Cody, have the 
conquered walked hand in hand with the conqueror, willing 
witnesses to his gU/rious achievements; or when, before, have 
kings and queens and emperors joined in according glad 
applause to a victor whose only royal heritage was his native 
manhood, and whose only spoils of victory were willing cap- 
tives ip peace and civilization. 

From this man's life, deeds, and successes others may 
glean lessons of endurance and courage in da3^s of trial, of 
hope in moments of despair, and of gentleness and generosity 
in the hour of triumph. 

With the earnest wish that such results may accrue from a 
perusal of these pages, let us first recall r.uffalo liill's record 
as a gallant and trusty scout. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE SCOUT. 

Gen. Richard Irving Dodge, General Sherman's chief 
of staff, correctly" states, in his "Thirty Years Among Our 
Wild Indians": 

. "The success of every expedition against Indians depends, 
to a degree, on the skill, fidelity, and intelligence of the men 
employed as scouts and guides, for not only is the command 
habitually dependent on them for good routes and comfort- 
able camps, but the officer in command must rely on iheir 
knowledge of the position and movements of the enemy." 

Our best Indian officers are quick to recognize these traits in 
those claiming frontier lore, and to no one in the military his- 
tory of the West has such deference been shown by them as 
to W. F. Cody, as is witnessed by the continuous years of 
service he has passed, the different commands he has served, 
the cx[)editions and campaigns he has been identified with, 
his repeated holding, when he desired, the position of Chief 
of Scouts of the United States Army, and the intimate 
association, and contact resulting from it, with Gen. W. T. 
Sherman (with whom he was at the making of the Comanche 
and Kiowa Treaty) in 1866, Gen. Phil. Sheridan (who has often 
given him special recognition and chosen him to organize 
e.xpeditions, notably that of the Duke Alexis), old General 
Harney, Generals Forsyth, Merritt, Brisbin^ Emory, Gibbon, 
Terry, McKenzie, Carr, W. S. Hancock, Crook, Pope, Miles, 
Ord, Auger, Royall, Hazen, Duncan, Palmer, Penrose, and 

(20) 



THE SCOUT. 21 

the late lamented General Custer. His history, in fact, 
would be almost a history of the middle West; and, though 
younger, equaling in term of service and in personal advent- 
ure, Kit Carson, old Jim Bridger, California Joe, Wild Bill, 
and the rest of his dead associates. 

As another evidence of the confidence placed in his fron- 
tiersmanship, it may suffice to mention the celebrities whose 
money and position most naturally sought the best protection 
the Western market could afford, and who chose to place their 
lives in his keeping: Sir George Gore, the Earl of Dunraven, 
James Gordon Bennett, Duke Alexis, General Custer, Law- 
rence Jerome, Remington, Professor Ward of Rochester, 
Professor Marsh of Yale College, Maj. J. G. Hecksher, Doc- 
tor Kingsley (Canon Kingsley's brother), and others of equal 
rank and distinction. In all books of the plains his exploits 
with Carr, Miles, and Crook, in the summer of •1876, when 
he killed Yellow Hand in front of the military command in 
an open hand-to-hand fight, are recorded. 

The following letter of his old commander, the celebrated 
Indian fighter, Gen. E. A. Carr, written years ago relative to 
him, is a tribute as generous as any brave man has ever made 
to another: 

"From his services in my command, steadily in the field, I 
am qualified to bear testimony as to his qualities and char- 
acter. 

" He was very modest and unassuming. He is a natural 
gentleman in his manners as well as in character, and has 
none of the roughness of the typical frontiersman. He can 
take his own part when required, but I have never heard of 
his using a knife or a pistol, or engaging in a quarrel where it 
could be avoided. His personal strength and activity are very 



22 BUFFALO BILL. 

great, and his temper and disposition are so good that no one 
has reason to quarrel with him. 

"His eyesight is better than a good field-glass; he is the 
best trailer I ever heard (jf, and also the best judge of the 
'lay of country' — that is, he is able to tell wiiat kind of 
country is ahead, so as to know how to act. He is a perfect 
judge of distance, and always ready to tell correctly how many 
miles it is to water, or to any place, or how many miles have 
been marched. 

" Mr. Cody seemed never to tire, and was always ready to 
go in the darkest night or the worst weather, and usually vol- 
unteered, knowing what the emergency required. His trail- 
ing, when following Indians, or looking for stray animals, or 
for game, is simply wonderful. He is a most extraordinary 
hunter. 

'• In a fight, Mr. Cody is never noisy, obstreperous, or 
excited. In fact, I hardly ever noticed him in a fight unless 
I happened to want iiim, or he had something to report, when 
he was always in the right place, and his information was 
always valuable and reliable. 

" During the winter of 1868 we encountered hardships and 
exposure in terrific snow-storms and sleet. On out occasion 
that winter Mr. Cody showed his quality by quietly offering 
to go with some dispatches to General Sheridan across a dan- 
gerous region of 300 miles where other principal scouts were 
reluctant to risk themselves. 

"Mr. Cody has since served with me as post guide and 
scout at Fort McPherson, where he frequently distinguished 
himself. 

"In the summer of 1876 Cody went with me to the Black 
Hills region, where he killed Yellow Hand. Afterward he 




DANGER AHEAD. 



24 BUFFALO BILL. 

was with the Big Horn and Yellowstone expedition. I con- 
sider that his services to the country and the army by trailing, 
finding, and fighting Indians, and thus protecting the frontier 
settlers, and by guiding commands over the best and most 
practicable routes, have been invaluable." 

Thus it will be seen that notwithstanding it will some- 
times be thought his fame rests upon the pen of the romancer, 
had they never been attracted to him — and they were solely by 
his sterling worth — W. F. Cody would none the less have been 
a remarkable character in American history. 

The history of such a man, attractive as it has already been 
to the most distinguished officers and fighters in the United 
States Army, must prove doubly so to men, women, and 
children who have heretofore found only in novels the hero of 
rare exploits, on which imagination so loves to dwell. 

As a proof that our great military leaders and the officers 
of the United States Army recognize the value of Buffalo Bill 
as a scout, guide, and Indian fighter, and that though I am 
writing of one of whom more stories of romance have been 
written than of any other individual living or dead, it will be 
well to turn to the letters of commendation from prominent 
personages in another part of this book, and the quotations 
which are given in this chapter from such authorities as Gen- 
eral Sheridan's " Autobiography," Captain Price's " Across the 
Continent with the Fifth Cavalry," Colonel Dodge's " Thirty 
Years Among the Indians," etc. 

These indorsements stamp Buffalo Bill as one whose deeds 
speak for themselves, and show conclusively that he is not a 
pen-made man, but worthy of all said and written of him. 



THE SCOUT. 25 

ACROSS THE CONTINENT WITH THE FIFTH CAVALRY. 
(Capt. George F. Price.) 

" After Cody was appointed chief scout and guide for the 
Republican River expedition, he was conspicuous during the 
pursuit of the Dog Soldiers, under the celebrated Cheyenne 
chief, Tall Bull, whom he killed at Summit Springs, Colo. 
He also guided the Fifth Cavalry to a position whence the 
regiment was enabled to charge upon the enemy and win a 
brilliant victory. He afterward participated in the Niobrara 
pursuit, and later narrowly escaped death at the hands of hos- 
tile Sioux on Prairie Dog Creek, Kan., September 26, 1869. 
He was assigned to Fort McPherson when the expedition was 
disbanded, and served at that station (was a justice of the 
peace in 1871) until the Fifth Cavalry was transferred to Ari- 
zona. He served during this period with several expeditions, 
and was conspicuous for gallant conduct in the Indian com- 
bat at Red Willow and Birdwood creeks, and also for success- 
ful services as chief scout and guide of the buffalo-hunt which 
was arranged by General Sheridan for the Grand Duke Alexis 
of Russia. 

" Cody was then assigned to duty with the Third Cavalry, 
and served with that regiment until the fall of 1872, when he 
was elected a member of the Nebraska Legislature, and thus 
acquired the title of ' Honorable.' 

*' At the beginning of the Sioux War in 1876 he hastened to 
Cheyenne, Wyo., joined the Fifth Cavalry, which had recently 
returned from Arizona, and was engaged in the affair at War 
Bonnet (Indian Creek), Wyo. He then accompanied the Fifth 
Cavalry to Goose Creek, Mont., and served with the Big Horn 
and Yellowstone expedition until September. Cody abun- 
dantly proved during this campaign that he had lost none of 



26 BUFFALO BILL. 

his old-time skill and daring in Indian warfare. He enjoys a 
brilliant reputation as a scout and guide, which has been 
fairly earned by faithful and conspicuous service. 

'* William F. Cody is one of the best scouts and guides that 
ever rode at the head of a column of cavalry on the prairies 
of the Far West. His army friends, from general to private, 
hope that he may live long and prosper abundantly. 

" Should the wild Siou.x again go on the war-path, Cody, if 
living, will be found with the cavalry advance, riding another 
'Buckskin Joe,' and carrying his Springfield rifle, 'Lucretia,' 
across the pommel of his saddle." 

This merited note of applause will find an echo in every 
patriotic American heart which recognizes and remembers 
that it was in the Fifth Cavalry that Gens. Robert E. Lee, 
Albert Sidney Johnston, Hardee, Emory, Van Dorn, Custer, 
and other noted generals served, and which was formerly 
known as the Second Dragoons. 

From Gen. Phil Sheridan's "Autobiography." After re- 
lating his conception of the first winter campaign against 
Indians on the then uninhabited and bleak plains, in the 
winter of 1868, he says: 

"The difficulties and hardships to be encountered had 
led several experienced officers of the army and some fron- 
tiersmen, like old Jim I'ridger, the famous scout and guide of 
earlier days, to discourage the project. I decided to go in 
person, bent on showing the Indians that they were not secure 
from punishment because of inclement weather — an ally on 
which they had hitherto relied with much assurance. We 
started, and the very first night a blizzard struck us and car- 
ried away our tents. The gale was so violent that they could, 
not be put up again; the rain and snow drenched us to the skin. 



28 BUFFALO HII.I,. 

Shivering from wet and cold, J took refuge under a wago::, and 
there spent such a miserable night that when morning came 
the gloomy predictions of old man Bridger and others rose up 
before me with greatly increased force. The difficulties were 
now fully realized; the blinding snow, mixed with sleet; the 
piercing wind, thermometer below zero — with green bushes 
only for fuel — occasioning intense suffering. Our numbers 
and companionship alone prevented us from being lost or per- 
ishing, a fate that stared in the face the frontiersmen, guides, 
and scouts on their solitary missions. 

" An important matter had been to secure competent guides 
for the different columns of troops, for, as I have said, the 
section of country to be operated in was comparatively unkno'on. 

"In those days the railroad town of Hays City was filled 
with so-called 'Indian scouts,' whose common boast was of 
having slain scores of redskins; but the real scout — that is, a 
guide and trailer knowing the habits of the Indians — was very 
scarce, and it was hard to find anybody familiar with the 
country south of the Arkansas, where the campaign was to be 
made. Still, about the various military posts there was some 
good material to .select from, and we managed to employ 
several men, wiio. from their experience on the plains in vari- 
ous capacities, or from natural instinct and aptitude, soon 
became excellent guides and courageous and valuable scouts, 
some of them, indeed, gaining much distinction. Mr. William 
F. Cody ('Buffalo Bill'), whose renown has since become 
world-wide, was one (jf the men thus selected. He received 
his sobrifjuet from his marked success in killing buffaloes to 
supply fresh meat to the construction parties on the Kansas 
Pacific Railway. He had lived from boyhood on the plains and 
passed every experience — herder, hunter, pony-express rider, 



30 BUFFALO BILL. 

Stage-driver, wagon-master in the quartermaster's department, 
and scout of tiie army, and was first brought to my notice by 
distinguishing himself in bringing me an important dispatch 
from Fort Larned to Fort Hays, a distance of sixty-five miles, 
through a section infested with Indians. The dispatch 
informed me that the Indians near Larned were preparing to 
decamp, and this intelligence required that certain orders 
should be carried to Fort Dodge, ninety-five miles south of 
Hays. This too being a particularly dangerous route — several 
couriers having been killed on it — it was impossible to get 
one of the various Petes, Jacks, or Jims hanging around 
Mays City to take my communication. Cody, learning of the 
strait I was in, manfully came to the rescue, and proposed to 
make the trip to Dodge, though he had just finished his long 
and perilous ride from Larned. I gratefully acce[ned his 
offer, a.ul after a short rest he mounted a fresh horse and 
hastened on his journey, halting but once to rest on the way, 
and then only for an hour, the stop being made at Coon 
Creek, "where he got another mount from a troop of cavalry. 
At Dodge he took some sleei), and then continued on to his own 
post — Fort Larned — with more dispatches. After resling at 
Larned he was again in the saddle with tidings for me at Fori 
Hays, (ieneral Hazcn sending him tiiis time with wortl that 
the villages had fled to the south of the Arkansas. 'I'luis, in 
all, Cody rode about three hundred and fifty miles in less than 
sixty hours, and such an exhibition of endurance and courage at 
that time of the year and in such weather was more than 
enough to convince me that his services would be extremely 
valuable in the campaign, .so I retained him at Fort Hays 
till the battalion of the Fifth Cavalry arrived, and then made 
him ciiief of scouts." 



THE SCOUT. 31 

Read through the fascinating book, "Campaigning with 
Crook (Maj.-Gen. George Crook, U. S. A.) and Stories of 
Army Life," due to the graphic and soldierly pen of Capt. 
Charles King of the United States Army, published in 1890. 

Incidentally the author refers in various pages to Colonel 
Cody as scout, etc., and testifies to the general esteem and 
affection in which Buffalo Bill is held by the army. 

The subjoined extracts from the book will give our readers 
an excellent idea of the military scout's calling and its 
dangers: 

" 'By Jove! General,' says Buffalo Bill, sliding backward 
down the hill, 'now's our chance. Let our party mount here 
out of sight and we'll cut those fellows off. Come down, 
every other man of you.' 

"Glancing behind me, I see Cody, Tait, and 'Chips,' with 
five cavalrymen, eagerly bending forward in their saddles, 
grasping carbine and rifle, every eye bent upon me, watching 
for the signal. Not a man but myself knows how near they 
are. ' That's right, close in, you beggars! Ten seconds more 
and you are on them! A hundred and twenty-five yards — a 
hundred — ninety — now, lads, in with you.' . . . 

"There's a rush, a wild ringing cheer; then bang, bang, 
bang! and in a cloud of dust, Cody and his men tumble in 
among them, Buffalo Bill closing on a superbly accoutered 
warrior. It is the work of a minute; the Indian has fired and 
missed. Cody's bullet tears through the rider's leg into the 
pony's heart, and they tumble in a confused heap on the prairie. 
The Cheyenne struggles to his feet for another shot, but 
Cody's second bullet hits the mark. It is now close quarters, 
knife to knife. After a hand-to-hand struggle, Cody wins, 
and the young chief Yellow Hand drops lifeless in his 




BUFFALO BILLS DUEL WITH CHIEF YELLOW HAND. 



THE SCOUT. 33 

tracks after a hot fight. Baffled and astounded, for once in a 
lifetime beaten at their own game, their project of joining 
Sitting Bull nipped in the bud, they take hurried flight. 
But our chief is satisfied; Buffalo Bill is radiant; his are 
the honors of the day." — From p. 35. 

General Cody holds his commission in the National 
Guard of the United States (State of Nebraska), an honor- 
able position, and as high as he can possibly attain. His con- 
nection luilh tlie Regular United States Army has covered a con- 
tinuous period of .fifteen years, and desultory connection of 
thirty years — in the most troublous era of that superb corps' 
Western history — as guide, scout, and chief of scouts — a posi- 
tion unknown in any other service, and the confidential 
nature of which is told in the extract from General Dodge's 
work, quoted below. This privileged position, and the nature 
of its services in the past, may be more fully appreciated 
when it is understood that it commanckd, besides horses, sub- 
sistence, and quarters, $10 per day ($3,650 per year), all 
expenses, and for special service, or "life and death " volun- 
teer missions, special rewards of from $100 to $500 for car- 
rying a single dispatch, and brought its holder the confidence 
of commanding generals, the fraternal friendship of the com- 
missioned officers, the idolization of the ranks, and the uni- 
versal respect and consideration of the hardy pioneers and 
■settlers of the West. 

In addition to the distinguished officers previously named 
in this chapter. General Cody may also well be proud of his 
service under Generals Bankhead, Fry, Crittenden, Switzer, 
Rucker, Smith, King, Van Vliet, Anson, Mills, Reynolds, 
Greeley, Penrose, Sandy, Forsyth, Dudley, Canby, Blunt, 
Hayes, Guy, Henry, and others. 



34 BUFFALO BILL. 

As a fitting close to this chapter of Cody's record as a 
scout, and as epitomizing the character of his services, the 
writer quotes from page 628 of Colonel Dodge's "Thirty 

Years Among the Indians ": 

"Of ten men employed as scouts, nine will prove to be 
worthless; of fifty so employed, one may prove to be really val- 
uable; but though hundreds, even thousands, of men have been 
so employed by the Government since the war, the number 
of really remarkable men among them can be counted on the 
fingers. The services which these men are called on to per- 
form are so important and valuable that the officer who 
benefits by them is sure to give the fullest credit, and men 
honored in official reports come to be great men on the fron- 
tier Fremont's reports made Kit Carson a renowned man. 
Custer immortalized California Joe. Custer, Merrilt, Carr, 
and Miles made William F. Cody ('Buffalo Bill') a plains 
celebrity ' until titne shall be no more.' " 



CHAPTER III. 

WHAT IS A COWBOY? 

Around the name of cowboy hangs a romance that will 

never die. 

It is a romance interwoven with deeds of daring, nerve, and 
big-heartedness that will survive long after civilization has 
stamped out every need for the brave men who have been 
known by the name of cowboy. 

Our c:ountry is one that has sprung surprises upon the world 
from ils very beginning, and ii has produced men possible in 
no other land. 

Without the services of the cowboy the vast grazing-lands 
of America would have been worthless. 

As the buffalo, like the Indian, perislied before the march 
of emigration westward, there came to take their place vast 
herds of beef-cattle, feeding on the plains where the once wild 
monarchs of the prairies had roamed. 

With these immense herds it was necessary to have herd- 
ers, and they became known by the somewhat picturescjue 
cognomen of cowboy. 

They are known from the flower-bespangled prairies of 
the Lone Star State to the land of the Frozen North, and 
their worth is recognized by those who know them as they 
arc, for to their care is given the vast wealth of the cattle- 
men of the country, which is not alone in the beef furnished 
for the markets but to be found also in the tan-yards and 
factories of the East. 

(30) 



WHAT IS A COWBOY? 37 

By many, who do not know him as he is, the cowboy is 
despised and generally feared. 

He is looked upon as a wild, reckless fellow, armed to the 
teeth, keeping half-full of bad whisky, and always ready for a 
fight or some deed of deviltry. 

How little is he known, and thus abused, for no braver 
hearts, no more generous motives, are to be found among men 
than are those that beat beneath the hunting-shirt of the cow- 
boy, whether he comes from the country bordering on the Rio 
Grande, the great plains of the Southwest, the level prairies 
of the West, or the grazing-lands of Wyoming. 

During night and day, storm and sunshine, danger and 
death, they are at their post of duty, always ready to be called 
upon, shrinking from no hardship, driven off by no peril, suf- 
fering untold privations, but ever ready to protect and care 
for the valuable herds that they control. 

At times, when a temporary relief from duty comes to 
them, is it a wonder that they break forth into reckless 
hilarity? 

They mean no harm to any one, and if, as in all communi- 
ties, one goes beyond all bounds and the death of a comrade 
follows, the many must suffer for the deeds of the few. 

The cowboy is composed of that stern stuff of which heroes 
are made, and the poet and the novelist have always found 
in this rover of the plains the richest material for song and 
stor3\ 

In olden times it was that the boys of every land turned 
toward the sea as the Mecca of their hopes and ambitions. 

They saw upon its broad bosom a field of adventure, a life 
of romance; and they sought to emulate great captains, good 
and bad. 



38 BUFFALO lilLL. 

But with the coming of steam-vessels the romance of the 
seas faded into oblivion; foreign lands were brought near; the 
mystery of the blue waters was solved in a most matter-of- 
fact way, and the growing youths of the country turned to new 
fields of adventure. 

Columbus had won the admiration of would-be young 
heroes, and the heroic deeds of the grand old sailor were read 
with avidity, the boy longing some day to emulate them. 

Even Kyd, Lafiite, Morgan, and other pirate captains 
became heroes in the minds of the average boy, who longed to 
run away to sea and make his name known in the world. 

But steam dispelled these ambitions, and the American 
boy was forced to turn his hopes upon the land of the setting 
sun. 

Daniel Boone was a hero to admire; David Crockett, Kit 
Carson, and others became the beau ideal of border heroes, 
and the heart of the youth thrilled in reading of these men in 
buckskin. 

And these men of the wild West, of whom Buffalo Bill is 
the most conspicuous figure, made it possible for other border 
heroes to appear. 

They sprung from the ranks (-f the armv, from the emi- 
grant's cabin, and from among those rangers of the plains, the 
cowboys. 

These brave fellows have produced many a hero in their 
ranks, and they have been ever ready to battle for the weak 
against the strong. 

The ranch and the cattle interests are being encroached 
upoli by the advance of civilization, the mask of mystery 
is being torn from the wild borderland by the westward 
march of the iron horse, and in a few more years, like the 




A BUCKING BRONCO. 



40 BUFFALO HILL. 

scout, the guide, the trapper, and the hunter, the cowboy will 
be a thing of the past. 

To be acknowledged as a true cowboy, and to the prairie 
born, one must possess accomplishments for the perilous and 
arduous work they have to undergo. 

He must be a perfect horseman, handle a rope, catch a 
calf, throw and tie a steer, stop a crazy cow on a stampede, 
lasso a mustang, and be a good shot, guide, scout, and Indian 
fighter as well. 

Let me here refer to a few incidents of a trip over the 
plains of a herd of cattle to the markets of the North, through 
the wild and unsettled portions of the Territories, varying in 
distance from fifteen hundred to two thousand miles, time 
three to six months, extending through the Indian Territory 
and Kansas to Nebraska, Colorado, Dakota, Montana, Idaho, 
Nevada, and sometimes as far as California. Immense herds, 
as high as thirty thousand or more, are moved by single 
owners, but are driven in bands of from one to three thousand, 
which, when under way, are designated "herds." Each of 
these have from ten to fifteen men, with a wagon-driver and 
cook, and the " king-pin of the outfit," the boss, with a supply 
of two or three ponies to a man, an ox-team, and blankets; 
also jerked-beef and corn-meal — the staple food. They are 
also furnished with mavericks, or "doubtless-owned " year- 
lings, for the fresh-meat supply. After getting fully under 
way, and the cattle broke in, from ten to fifteen miles a 
day is the average, and everything is plain sailing in fair 
weather. As night comes on the cattle are rounded up in a 
small compass, and held until they lie down, when two men 
are left on watch, riding round and round them in opposite 
directions, singing or whistling all the time, for two hours, 



WHAT IS A COWBOY? 41 

that being tl a lengtn ot each watch. The singing is abso- 
lutely necessa /, as it seems to soothe the fears of the cattle, 
scares away tl e wolves or other varmints that may be prowl- 
ing around, an ' prevents them from hearing any other acci- 
dental sound, c ■ dreaming of their old homes; and if stopped 
would in all prol ability be the signal for a general stampede. 
"Music hath c^ ^ ms to soothe the savage breast," if a cow- 
boy's compulsor- *. awling out lines of his own composition: 

Lie nicely ow, cattle, don't heed any rattle, 

But qu>tlv rest until morn; 
For if you skec 'ddh, we'll jump in the saddle, 

And head you assure as you're born, 

can be considered such. 

Ordinarily so clumsy and stupid-looking, a thousand beef- 
steers can rise like a flock of quail on the roof of an exploding 
powder-mill, and will scud away like a tumble-weed before a 
high wind, with a noise like a receding earthquake. Tlien 
comes fun and frolic for the boys. Many a cowboy has lost 
his life in one of these wild stampedes of cattle, which would 
put an army of men to flight in a mad charge down upon them. 

The next great trouble is in crossing streams, which are 
invariably high in the driving season. When cattle strike 
swimming-water, they generally try to turn back, which event- 
uates in their " milling " — that is, swimming in a circle — and if 
allowed to continue would result in the drowning of many. 
Then the daring herder must leave his pony, doff his togs, 
scramble over their backs and horns to scatter them, and with 
whoops and yells, splashing, dashing, and didos in the water, 
scare them to the opposite bank. This is not always done in a 
moment, for a steer is no fool of a swimmer. One has been 
seen to hold his own for six hours in the gulf, after having 



/ I 




WHAT IS A COWBOY? 



43 



jumped overboard. As some of the streams are very rapid, 
and a quarter to a half mile wide, considerable drifting is done. 
Then the naked herder has plenty of amusement in the hot 
sun, fighting green-head files and mosquitoes, and peeping 
around for Indians, until the rest of the lay-out is put over — 
not an easy job. A temporary boat has to be made of the 
wagon-box by tacking the canvas cover over the bottom, 
with which the ammunition and grub is ferried across, and 
the running-gear and ponies are swum over afterward. .Indian 
fights and horse-thief troubles are part of the regular rations. 
Mixing with other herds and cutting them out, again avoiding 
too much water at times and hunting for a drop at others, 
belongs to the regular routine. 

Such is the cowboy of the wild West, who, if not without 
faults, has virtues to compensate for the little eccentricities 
that cling to men of the frontier. 




A GROUP OF HOSTILES. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE RIDERS OV THE WORLD. 

Many customs and habits, by reason of their peculiar sur- 
roundings and requirements, have become necessities, and, 
indeed, second nature to some people; while to others, whose 
observation has shown the graces and beauties of these same 
customs and habits, they are studied with great diligence and 
application, and acquired, as far as such things can be acquired, 
as accomplishments. 

To the Bedouin of the Arabian Desert, the Cossack, the 
Vacquero, the Gaucho, and last, but the peers of any of tiiese, 
our native Indian and our own cowboy, the horse is a neces- 
sity; and woe be unto that man who by fraud, stealth, or force 
attempts to despoil the owner of his animal, his pet. Pleas- 
ures, comforts, necessities, aye, living itself, would be impos- 
sible to either of these if his horse was not part of his worldly 
possessions. The desert, the pampas, the llanos, and the 
prairie without horses would, for the uses of man, be as an 
ocean without ships or boats. Put to the fashionables of the 
world the art of horsemanship is a beautiful and admirable 
accomplishment, a means of healthful exercise. The rider's 
grace of carriage, his easy seat, his courageous bearing, like 
the fit (jf his handsome laihjr-made riding-suit, are objects of 
pride to himself, and causes of congratulation from his 
associates. Gentlemen riders occasionally re|)lace their 
jockeys on the race-course for the display of their grace 
and ability. But, after all. how poor their best efforts seem, 



THE RIDERS OF THE WORLD. 



46 



how awkward their most graceful carriage, and how uncertain 
and timid their most heroic riding appears when put in actual 
contrast to the native ease, grace, daring, and picturesque 
riding of those "to the manor born." The one is, to quote 
from familiar slang, "born in the saddle," "looks as if part of 




NIP AND TUCK. 

his horse," while the other easily betrays his hours of study 
and of practice. 

As children we have all read of the Arab, but we remem- 
ber him principally by recollecting his love for his horse. 
From our school-boy days the Arab and his horse have been 
as one to us. His somewhat fantastic costume and the com- 
plicated trappings of his sleed were beautiful pictures to us, 
and we recall them yet. These Bedouins of the Arabian 
Desert are not only recognized as among the best horsemen 



46 BUFFALO BILL. 

of the world, but are the beau ideal of Eastern pathfinders. 
The Cossack of the Caucasian line is by inheritance and 
inclination among the most fearless and graceful horsemen of 
the workl. His system of warfare, which bears a striking 
similarity to that which prevailed on the American frontier a 
few years ago, is the finest school for the development of 
military horsemanship since the days of Saladin and Coeur 
de Leon. The Cossacks of the Caucasian line are entitled 
to be called the flower of that great horde of irregular cavalry, 
the Cossack Military Colonies, that dwell along the southern 
frontier of the Russian Empire. They spring from the same 
branch of the great Cossack family, the Zaporogians, which 
Byron immortalized in his great poem "Mazeppa." On their 
light steppe horses, which are as fierce and active as them- 
selves, they have proven themselves worthy of their fierce and 
warlike sires. Experts as swordsmen, as well as horsemen, 
they met their old enemies, the Russians, on equal terms. 

As picturesque, and more gaudy in appearance and trap- 
ping than either the lledouin or the Cossack, is the wily ^'ac- 
quero of our neighboring Mexico. Agile, hardy, and dashing, 
adepts in the work of lasso-throwing, as well as with arms, 
they are alike interesting in exhibition and dangerous as 
foes. 

But of all these native-born and wonderful horsemen of 
lands oiher than our own, perhaps the most complete, the 
most (larnig aiul dangerous in war, the most phenomenal 
trailer, the greatest pathfinder, is the wonderful Caucho from 
the llanos of the .\rgentine Republic. From his earliest 
infancy the half-wild horses have been his intimates and 
familiars. When the American or English boy is just learn- 
ing to stand on his feet alone, the infant Gaucho is being 



THE RIDERS OF THE WORLD. 4^ 

taught by his fond mother to steady himself on the back of 
one of the ponies of the herd. At the age of four years he can 
ride the wildest colt that roams the pampas, and from that time 
he and his horse are practically one; and to unseat him would be 
almost to tear from tlie horse a portion of his own anatomy. 
He is by virtue of his home life and occupations completely 
dependent on his horse. He spends most of his life on horse- 
back, and is associated with the wild equine to a greater 
degree than any member of the other equestrian races of the 
world. Armed with the deadly bolas he is a terrible foe to 
either bird, beast, or man. The bolas consists of a number 
of rawhide thongs fastened to a central thong and with an 
iron ball at each of the ends. He is possibly the most expert 
lassoer in the world; and when in pursuit of animal or bird he 
hurls the deadly bolas with unerring skill. From a distance 
of sixty feet he causes it to inextricably entangle about the 
legs, bringing the victim helpless to the ground. When track- 
ing his foe across the pathless continent, his fearful skill and 
persistence make the work of the Cuban bloodhound and 
the Bedouin of the desert appear like child's play. It is 
interesting to note that the Ciaucho himself makes nearly 
everything connected with his outfit, from the saddle in 
which he rides to the boots which cover his feet. 

Though these horsemen of the Orient and of South America 
are picturesque types of the riders of the world, the list would 
indeed be incomplete if we omitted our own Indian and 
cowboy. To the former no price is too high, no danger too 
threatening to risk, no undertaking too hazardous to attempt, 
that will win for him a horse. His wealth is told in the num- 
ber of his horses, and while he may keep his promise of peace 
to the settler, he can rarely resist "borrowing" one of his 



THE RIDERS OP^ THE WORLD. 49 

horses if occasion seems to him to demand the need of it. 
Whether in pursuit of game, indulging in his pecuHarly inter- 
esting sports, or on the war-path, his pony is his friend and 
companion. It would at times appear as though the wish, the 
thought, of the rider was in some mysterious way communi- 
cated to the horse without word of mouth or touch of bridle- 
rein, so quick are their changes of movement or direction and 
so seldom is a correction made. 

Indian warfare was made far more dangerous to the 
pioneer of comparatively later days by reason of the red 
man's introduction to the horse. In the earliest conflicts 
between the hereditary owners of this continent and the white 
aggressor, the horse and his uses were unknown to the former. 
His fighting, like his hunting, had to be done on foot. An 
Indian attack in those days could not be made with the sud- 
denness or the rush, nor could his I'etreat be so quickly 
accomplished, as in after years. And it was not until Cortez 
brought over his horses that the "long-felt want" was satis- 
fied. Now, like a veritable Centaur, he strides his animal, his 
command so complete that it appears his arms and hands are 
not needed for use in his horsemanship, but left free to handle 
his bow and arrow or his rifle. 

Just here it may be well to say a few words relative to the 
noble animal whose duties and services have commanded the 
admiration of mankind. 

It seems to be a settled fact that the horse is of Moorish 
origin, as also is his accompaniment, the saddle. 

To follow the theory of other able writers, the horse is 
thought to be a native of the plains of Central Asia, but the 
wild species from which it is derived is not certainly known. 
The Asiatic horse with its one digit was in turn evolved from 



50 BUFFALO BILL. 

ancestors with polydactyl feet. Some instances have been 
known in modern times, and ancient recortls give stories, of 
horses presenting more than one toe. Julius Ccesar's horse 
is said to have had this peculiarity. Suetonius, the writer, 
describes this horse as being almost human, with the hoofs 
cleft like toes. This author says: " It was born in Cresar's 
own stables, and as the soothsayers declared that it showed 
that its owner would be lord of the world, he reared it with 
great care, and was the first to mount it. It would allow no 
other rider." Most of the polydactyl horses found in the 
present day have been raised in the southwest of America, 
or from that ancestry bred. In this way their connection 
with the mustang, or semi-wild stock of that region, becomes 
at least probable. 

This same raw-boned, small, or medium-sized horse, called 
the mustang, possesses a well-authenticated claim to noble 
origin. Horses of good Berber blood were brought over by 
the Spanish conquerors under Cortez and De Soto, and it is a 
most reasonable supposition that these invaders selected the 
very best and strongest specimens of the breed for use in their 
daring ventures. It is not surprising that the natives of Me.\- 
ico, when for the fust lime they saw approaching them men 
on horses, both clad in glittering armor, were fdled witii terror. 
To them it seemed that man and horse were one, a veritable 
four-legged warrior, antl iliey fled precipitately to the fast- 
nesses of their own mountains to escape contact with this 
monstrosity. 

In good time the climate and surroundings wrought many 
clianges in the horse that first landed on the shores of Mexico, 
and the breed eventually became what is now known as the 
"American mustang," jierhaps the hardiest specimen of the 



THE RIDERS OF THE WORLD. 61 

genus horse now known. From this origin evoluted the 
finest breeds of horses now claimed to be American bred. 

During the visit of the Wild West to Paris, General Cody, 
by invitation, called on Rosa Bonheur, the famous painter of 
horses. Three years prior to this time Miss Bonheur had 
received from America three fine mustang ponies, two of which 
had, despite all effort, remained uncontrollable and therefore, 
of course, useless to her. These latter she generously ten- 
dered to General Cody as a present. Her surprise when Cody 
calmly accepted the offer, and assured her that "his boys" 
would have but little trouble in catching and controlling these 
animals, can hardly be described. True to his assurance, 
Cody soon had two of his " boys " on hand, and in a short 
time the apparently uncontrollable "Appach" and "Clair de 
Lune " were lassoed by the "boys," saddled and mounted. 
This scene was witnessed not only by the great artist herself 
but by numbers of marveling neighbors, who, by peeping 
through their window-shutters, saw for the first time a lasso 
hunt. The quick, accurate, and successful work of the Ameri- 
can cowboy astonished and interested all these witnesses to a 
wonderful degree. 

To the cowboy's dexterous horsemanship, added to his 
courage and endurance, has been largely due the protection 
of the lives and property of the early emigrants to the great 
W^est. For years the dissemination of news was entirely 
dependent upon these heroic riders. Now the success and 
preservation of the vast cattle interests are made possible 
only by the watchful care of the cowboy and his pony — the 
one practically help^ess without the other. 

The " view halloo" of the English hunting gentleman may 
be inspiriting to those accustomed to it, but how it lacks in 



52 I^UFFALO BtLL. 

vigor, in earnestness, in actual music, the famous cowboy yell 
as he and his pony dash upon game or hostile Indians. This 
latter carries with its sound the conviction of heartiness, 
determination, and enthusiasm with which he begins a sport, 
faces a danger, or encounters a foe. To those who have seen 
Gen. W. F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill") give exhibitions of this 
method of riding, it will readily be understood how difficult it 
is in words to illustrate the strange peculiarity of its singular 
attractiveness. 

To this man of ideas is due the thought of gathering 
together in one congress the representatives of all these types 
of horses and riders. And, as with Cody to resolve is to act, 
this interesting assemblage is ready for public contemplation 
at the World's Fair. 

It may not be inappropriate in this chapter to quote the 
words of the famous king of poets in eulogy of that noble 
animal, the horse. 

SHAKESPEARE ON THE HORSE. 

Imperiously he leaps, he neighs, he bounds, 
.And now his woven girths he breaks asunder; 

The bearing earth with his hard hoof he wounds, 

Whose hollow womb resounds like heaven's thunder; 

The iron bit he crushes 'tween his teeth, 

Controlling what he was controlled with. 

His ears up-pricked, his braided hanging mane 
Upon his compassed crest now stands on end; 

I lis nostrils drink the air, and forth again. 
As from a furnace, vapors doth he send; 

His eye, which scornfully glisters like lire, 

Shows his hot courage and his liigh desire. 

Sometimes he trots, as if he told the steps 

With gentle majesty and modest pride; 
Anon he rears upright, curvets, and leaps. 

As who should say, "!,<■! thus my strength is tried; 



THE RIDERS OF THE WORLD. 53 

And this I do to captivate the eye 

Of the fair breeder that is standing by." 

What recketh he his rider's angry stir, 

His flattering " Holla," or his " Stand, I say"? 

What cares he now for curb or pricking spur. 
For rich caparisons or trapping gay? 

He sees his love, and nothing else he sees. 

Nor nothing else with his proud sight agrees. 

Look! When a painter would surpass the life 

In limning out a well-proportioned steed, 
His art with nature's workmanship at strife. 

As if the dead the living should exceed. 
So did this horse e.xcel a common one. 
In shape, in color, courage, pace, and bone. 

Round-hoof'd, short-jointed, fetlocks shag and long. 
Broad breast, full eye, small head, and nostrils wide. 

High crest, short ears, straight legs, and passing strong, 
Thin mane, thick tail, broad buttock, tender hide. 

Look! What a horse should have he did not lack, 

Save a proud rider on so proud a back. 



BUFFALO BILL S EQUINE HEROES. 

Mr. Cody is a great lover of man's best friend among the 
animal kingdom — the horse. The peculiar career he has fol- 
lowed has made his equine friend such a sterling necessity as a 
companion, an assistant, a confidant, that he admits, as every 
frontiersman and scout does, a great deal depends, even life 
itself in innumerable emergencies, on the general sagacity of 
this noble brute. For the purposes of the trail, the hunt, the 
battle, the pursuit, or the stampede it was essentially neces- 
sary to select, for chargers with which to gain success, animals 
excelling in the qualities of strength, speed, docility, courage, 
stamina, keen scent, delicacy of ear, quick of sight, sure-footed, 
shrewd in perception, nobleness of character, and general 
intelligence. History records, and a grateful memory still 



54 



PUFFALO BILL. 



holds dear, numberless famous quadruped allies that Buffalo 
Bill has during his long career possessed, and many are the 
stories told on the frontier and in the army of Old Buckskin 
Joe, Brigham, Tall Bull, Powder-Face, Stranger, and Old 
Charlie. 

Olil Buckskin Joe was one of his early favorites, who by 
long service in army-scouting became quite an adept, and 




COMRADES. 

seemed to have a perfect knowledge of the duties required of 
him. For this reason, when ordered to find and report the 
location of the savages in their strongholds, at times hundreds 
of miles away ovur a lonely country, infested by scouting 
|)artics of hostiles liable at any instant to pounce upon one, 
Old Buckskin was always selected by Cody to accompany 
him on the trail when the work was dangerous. Mounted on 
another horse, he would let lUickskin follow untrammeled, 
even by a halter, so as to reserve him fresh in case of dis- 
covery and the terrible necessity of "a ride for life." Quick 
to scent danger, he instinctively gave evidence of his fears, 
and would almost assist his saddling or quickly insert his head 



THE RIDERS OF THE WORLD, 55 

in the bridle, and once on his bcick Joe was always able to bid 
defiance to the swiftest horses the Indians possessed, and the 
longer the chase the farther they were left in his rear. On 
one occasion his master descried a band of loo warriors, 
who gave them chase from the headwaters of the Republican 
River to Fort McPherson, a distance of 195 miles. It was 
at a season when the ponies were in good condition, and the 
savage band, though thirsting for the scalp of their well- 
known foe, Pa-he-has-ka (the long-haired scout), dropped 
behind until on the last fifty miles but fifteen of the fleetest 
were in pursuit, Buckskin leavnig them out of sight twenty 
miles from the fort. 

This ride, famed in army annals, caused Old Buckskin to 
go blind, but the gratitude of his master was such that Joe 
was kept and carefully attended to until his death, which 
occurred a few years ago at Cody's home. North Platte. 
Buckskin was accorded a decent funeral, and a tombstone 
erected over his remains inscribed "Old Buckskin Joe, the 
horse that on several occasions saved the life of Buffalo Bill 
by carrying him safely out of the range of Indian bullets. 
Died of old age, 1882." 

Brigham was another celebrity of his race, and it was on 
his back Mr. Cody clinched his undisputed title of " King 
Buffalo-killer," and added permanency to the name of Buffalo 
Bill by killing sixty-nine buffalo in one run; and such was this 
steed's knowledge of hunting that game that he discarded 
saddle and bridle while following the herd, killing the last 
half while riding this renowned pet of the chase bareback. 

Many other tried and true ones have enhanced his love for 
their race, the last of the famous old-timers being owned and 
ridden by him in his daily exhibitions with the Wild West, 



56 BUFFALO BILL. 

traversing the continent five times, traveling thousands of 
miles, and never missing a performance. Old Cliarlie pos- 
sessed all the virtues that go to form a " noble horse." Charlie 
was broken in by Mr. Cody, and has never been ridden by any 
one else (except Miss Aria Cody, an accomplished horse- 
woman), and for many years has been the participant of all 
his master's skirmishes, expeditions, long rides, and hunts; 
has been ridden over all kinds of rough country, prairie-dog 
towns, mountain and plain; has never stumbled or fallen, 
being beyond a doubt one of the surest-footed animals man 
ever rode; and for endurance is a second Buckskin Joe, if not 
better, on one occasion, in an emergenc}', having carried his 
master over a prairie road one Jiundi cd iiiih-s in nine Jioiirs and 
forty-five minutes, rider and trappings weighing 243 pounds. 
Old Charlie's great point was his wonderful intelligence, 
which caused him to act in a manner as to almost lay claim 
in his conduct to judiciousness. In the most lonely or unat- 
tractive place, or in one of the most seductive to equine 
rambles, when his master removed saddle and bridle, he 
could trust Charlie to stay where he was left, wrap himself in 
a blanket, take the saddle for a pillow, go to sleep contented, 
knowing his faithful steed would be close at hand, or, after 
browsing fully, would come and lie close beside him, sink into 
slumber, with ear at tension, one eye open, and at the slightest 
disturbance arouse him to meet the threatened danger. All 
the Indians in the country, keen as he was to scent them, 
intuitively as he dreaded them, could not make him leave, or 
stampede him, until his owner was mounted, challenging in 
this respect the instincts of the highest class of watch-dog. 

He cared not how much load you put on his back, having 
carrif.! 500 pnmuls of buffalo-meat; would pull as much by 



THE RIDERS OF THE WORLD. 



57 



tying a lariat to the pommel as an ordinary horse with a 
collar; would hold the strongest buffalo or steer, but when a 
harness was placed on his back and a collar round his neck 
he would riot pull an ounce, and if not soon relieved would 
viciously resent the (to him) seeming degradation. 

Alas! ])oor Charlie died while crossing the ocean on 
the homeward-bound voyage, and was buried at sea with all 
the honors that would have been shown to a human being. 

In his death Bulfalo Bill lost a friend he will never forget. 




KICKING BEAR, OGALALLA SIOUX WAR CHIEF. 




KEUijKlU bCOUT. 



, CHAPTER V. 

INDIAN HOME LIFE. 

To Indians at peace, and with food in plenty, the winter 
camp is their home. After the varying excitements, the suc- 
cesses and vicissitudes, the constant labors of many months, 
the prospect of the winter's peace and rest, with its home life 
and home pleasures, comes like a soothing balm to all. 

To those of the warriors who have passed the age of pas- 
sionate excitements, this season brings the full enjoyment of 
those pleasures and excitements yet left to them in life. 
Their days are spent in gambling, their lung vv'inter evenings 
in endless repetitions of stories of their wonderful perform- 
ances ill days gone by, and their nights in the sound, sweet 
sleep vouchsafed only to easy consciences. 

The women also have a good time? No more taking 
down and putting up the tepee; no more packing and unpack- 
ing the ponies. To bring the wood and water, do the little 
cooking, to attend to the ponies, and possibly to dress a few 
skins is all the labor devolved upon them. 

To the young of both sexes, whether married or single, 
this season brings unending excitement and pleasure. Now 
is the time for dances and feasts, for visits and frolics and 
merry-making of all kinds, and for this time the "story- 
teller" has prepared and rehearsed his most marvelous recit- 
als. Above all, it is the season for love-making; " love rules 
the camp," and now is woman's opportunity. 

Without literature, without music or painting as arts, with- 

(59) 



00 BaFFALO BTLL. 

out fiiriher study of nature than is necessary for the safety of 
the needs of their daily hfe, with no knowledge or care for 
politics or finance or the thousand questions of social or 
other science that disturb and perplex the minds of civilized 
people, and with reasoning faculties little superior to instinct, 
there is among Indians no such thing as conversation as we 
understand it. There is plenty of talk, but no interchange of 
ideas; no expression and comparison of views and beliefs, 
except on the most commonplace topics. Half a dozen old 
sages will be sitting around, quietly and gravely passing the 
pipe, and apparently engaged in important discussion. Nine 
times out of ten their talk is the merest camp tattle, or about 
a stray horse or sick colt, or where one killed a deer or 
another saw a buffalo-track. All serious questions of war and 
chase are reserved for discussion in the council lodge. 

During the pleasant months he has constantly the healthy 
stimukis of active life; during the winter he is either in a 
state of lethargy or of undue excitement. During the day, 
in the winter season, the men gamble or sleep, the women 
work or idle, as suits each; but the moment it gets dark every- 
body is on the qui vive, ready for any fun that presents 
itself. A few i)eals on a tom-tom bring all the inmates of the 
neighboring lodges; a dance or gambling bout is soon inaugu- 
rated, and oftentimes kept up until nearly morning. 

Tlic insufficiency and uncertainty of human happiness has 
been the theme of eloquent writers of all ages. Every man's 
happiness is lodged in his own nature, and is, to a certain 
extent at least, independent of his external circumstances 
and surroundings. These primitive people demonstrate the 
general correctness of this theory, for they are habitually and 
universally happy people. They thoroughly enjoy the pres- 



INDIAN HOME LIFE. 61 

ent, make no worry over the possibilities of the future, and 
" never cry over spilled milk." It may be argued that their 
apparent happiness is only insensibility, the happiness of the 
mere animal, whose animal desires are satisfied. It may be 
so. I simply state facts, others may draw conclusions. The 
Indian is proud, sensitive, quick-tempered, easily wounded, 
easily excited; but though utterly unforgiving, he never broods. 
This is the whole secret of his happiness. 

In spite of the fact that the wives are mere property, the 
domestic life of the Indian will bear comparison with that of 
average civilized communities. The husband, as a rule, is 
kind; ruling, but with no harshness. The wives are generally 
faithful, obedient, and industrious. The children are spoiled, 
and a nuisance to all red visitors. Fortunately the white 
man, the "bugaboo" of their baby days, is yet such an object 
of terror as to keep them at a respectful distance. Among 
themselves the members of the family are perfectly easy and 
unrestrained. It is extremely rare that there is any quarrel- 
ing among the women. 

There is no such thing as nervousness in either sex. Liv- 
ing in but the one room, they are from babyhood accustomed to 
what would be unbearable annoyance to whites. The head of 
the lodge comes back tired from a hunt, throws himself down 
on a bed, and goes fast to sleep, though his two or three wives 
chatter around and his children tumble all over him. Every- 
body seems to do just as he or she pleases, and this seems no 
annoyance to anybody else. 

Unlike her civilized sister, the Indian woman, " in her hour 
of greatest need," does not need any one. She would be 
shocked at the idea of having a man doctor. In pleasant 
weather the expectant mother betakes herself to the seclusion 



C,2 BUFFALO RILL. 

of some thicket; in winter she goes to a tepee provided in 
each band for the women. In a few hours she returns with a 
baby in its cradle on her back, and goes about her usual 
duties as if nothing had happened. 

Preparations for war or the chase occupy such hours of the 
winter encampment as the noble red man can spare from 
gambling, love-making, and personal adornment. 

Each Indian must make for himself everything which he 
can not procure by barter, and the opportunities for barter of 
the more common necessities are very few, the Indians not 
having even yet conceived the idea of making any articles 
for sale among themselves. 

The saddle requires much time and care in its construction; 
some Indians can never learn to make one; consequently this 
is more an article of barter than anything commonly made by 
Indians. 

No single article varies so much in make and value as the 
bridle. The bit is always purchased, and is of every pattern, 
from the plain snaffle to the complicated contrivance of the 
Mexicans. The bridle of one Indian may be a mere head- 
stall of rawhide attached to the bit, but without frontlet or 
throat-hitch, and with reins of the same material, the whole 
not worth a dollar; that of another may be so elaborated by 
patient labor, and so garnished with silver, as to be worth a 
hundred dollars. 

The Southern Indians have learned from the Mexicans the 
art of plaiting horse-hair, and much of their work is very 
artistic and beautiful, besides being wonderfully serviceable. 
A small smooth stick, one-fourth of an inch in diameter, is the 
mold over which the hair is plaited. When finished, the stick 
is withdrawn. The hair used is previously dyed of different 



INDIAN HOME LIFE. 63 

colors, and it is so woven as to present pretty patterns. The 
hair, not being very strong, is used for the head-stall; the 
reins, which require strength, are plaited solid, but in the same 
pattern, showing skill, taste, and fitness. 

The name "lariat" (Spanish, riatd) is applied by all fron- 
tiersmen and Indians to the rope or cord used for picketing or 
fastening their horses while grazing, and also to the thong 
used for catching wild animals — the lasso. They are the same, 
with a very great difference. The lasso may be used for 
picketing a horse, but the rope with which a horse is ordina- 
rily picketed would never be of use as a lasso. 

A good riata (lasso) requires a great deal of labor and 
patient care. It is sometimes made of plaited hair from the 
manes and tails of horses, but these are not common except 
where wild liorses are plentiful, one such riata requiring the 
hair of not less than twenty animals. It is generally made o( 
rawhide of- buffalo or domestic cattle, freed from hair, cut 
into narrow strips, and plaited with infinite patience and care, 
so as to be perfectly round and smooth. Such a riata, though 
costing less money than that ot hair, is infinitely superior. It is 
smooth, round, heavy, runs easily and quickly to noose, and is 
as strong as a cable. Those tribes, as the Ute, who are unable 
to procure beef or buffalo skins, make beautiful lariats of thin 
strips of buckskin plaited together; but as these are used only 
for securing their horses they are usually plaited flat. 

To make these articles is all that the male Indian finds to 
do in his ordinary winter life. Without occupation, without lit- 
erature, without thought, how man can persuade himself to 
continue to exist can be explained only on the hypothesis that 
he is a natural "club man," or a mere animal. 

" From rosy morn to dewy eve " there is always work 



64 BUFFALO BTT.L. 

for the Indian woman. Fortunately for her the aboriginal 
inhabitants have as yet discovered no means of making a 
light sufficient to work by at night. It is true they beg or buy 
a few candles from military posts or traders, but these are 
sacredly preserved for dances and grand occasions. 

But, sic ve as she is, I doubt if she could be forced to work 
after dark iven if she had light. Custom, which holds her in 
so many inexorable bonds, comes to her aid in this case. In 
every tribe night is the woman's right, and no matter how 
urgent th^ work which occupies her during the daylight, 
the moment the dark comes she bedecks herself in her best 
finery and stands at the door of the lodge, her ear strained 
for the fi'-st beat of the tom-tom which summons her to where 
she is the •, for once, queen and ruler. 

There was formerly one exception to this immunity from 
night work, but it has gone with the buffalo. At the time of 
the "great fall hunt " there was no rest nor excuse for her. 
She must work at any and all hours. If the herds were moving, 
the success of the hunt might depend on the rapidity with 
which the women performed their work on a batch of dead 
buffalo. These animals spoil very quickly if not disembow- 
eled, and though the hunters tried to regulate the daily kill 
by the ability of the squaws to "clean up" after them, they 
could, not in the nature of things, always do so. 

When the buffalo was dead the man's work was done; it 
was woman's work to s.cin and cut up the dead animal; and 
oftentimes, when the n en were exceptionally fortunate, the 
women were obliged to work hard and fast all night long 
before the task was finished. 

The meat, cut as closely as possible from the bones, is tied 
up in the skin, and packed to camp on the j)onies. 



INDIAN HOME LIFE. 65 

The skin is spread, flesh side upward, on a level piece 
of ground, small slits are cut in the edges, and it is tightly 
stretched and fastened down by wooden pegs driven through 
the slits into the ground. The meat is cut into thin flakes 
and placed upon poles or scaffolds to dry in the sun. 

All this work must be done, as it were, instantly, for if 
the skin is allowed to dry unstretched it can never be made 
use of as a robe, and the meat spoils if not "jerked" within a 
few hours. 

This lively work lasts but a few weeks, and is looked upon 
by the workers themselves pretty much in the same way as 
notable housewives look upon the early house-cleaning — very 
disagreeable, but very enjoyable. The real work begins 
when, the hunt being over, the band has gone into winter 
quarters, for then must the women begin to utilize "the 
crop." 

Some of the thickest bulls' hides are placed to soak in 
water in which is mixed wood ashes, or some natural alkali. 
This takes the hair off. The skin is then cut into the required 
shape and stretched on a form, on which it is allowed to dry, 
when it not only retains its shape but becomes almost as 
hard as iron. These boxes are of various shapes and sizes — 
some made like huge pocket-books, others like trunks. All 
are called "parfleche." 

As soon as these parfleches, or trunks, are ready for use, 
the now thoroughly dried meat is pounded to powder between 
two stones. About two inches of this powdered meat is 
placed in the bottom of a parfleche and melted fat is lightly 
poured over it. Then another layer of meat is served in the 
same way, and so on until the trunk is full. It is kept hot until 
the entire mass is thoroughly saturated. When cold, the 



OG BUFFALO BILL. 

parfleches are closed and tightly tied up. The contents so 
prepared will keep in good condition for several years. Prob- 
ably the best feature of the process is that nothing is lost, the 
flesh of old and tough animals being, after this treatment, so 
nearly as good as that of the young that few persons can tell 
the difference. This is the true Indian bread, and is used as 
bread when they have fresh meat. Boiled, it makes a soup 
very nutritious. So long as the Indian has this dried meat and 
pemmican he is entirely independent of all other food. Of 
late years all the beef issued to the Indians on the reserva- 
tions, and not needed for immediate consumption, is treated 
in this way. 

The dressing of skins is the next work. The thickest hides 
are put in soak of alkali for materials for making shields, 
saddles, riatas, etc. Hides for making or repairing lodges 
are treated in the same way, but after the hair has been 
removed they are reduced in thickness, made pliable, and 
most frequently soaked. 

Deer, antelope, and oiher skins are beautifully prepared 
for clothing, the hair being always removed. Some of these 
skins are so worked down that they are almost as thin and 
while as cotton cloth. 

But all this is the mere commencement of the long and 
patient labor which the loving wife bestows on tlie robe 
whicii the husband is to use on dress occasions. The whole 
inner surface is frequently covered with designs beautifully 
worked with jiorcupine-cpiills, or grasses dyed in various col- 
ors. Sometimes the enii)ellishments are paintings. Many 
elegant robes have taken a year (o finish. 

Every animal brought into the camp brings work for the 
squaw. The buck comes in with a deer and drops it at the 



INDIAN HOME LIFE. 67 

door. The squaw skins it, cuts up and preserves the meat, 
dresses the skin and fashions it into garments for some mem- 
ber of the family. Until within a very few years the needle 
was a piece of sharpened bone; the thread a fiber of sinew. 
These are yet used in the ornamentation of robes, but almost 
all the ordinary sewing is done with civilized appliances. 

All Indians are excessively fond of bead-work, and not 
only the clothing, moccasins, gun-covers, quivers, knife- 
sheaths, and tobacco-pouches, but every little bag or orna- 
ment, is covered with this work. Many of the designs are 
pretty and artistic. In stringing the beads for this work an 
ordinary needle is used; but in every case, except for articles 
made for sale, the thread is sinew. 

The life in the winter encampment has scarcely been 
changed in any particular, but with the earliest spring come 
evidences of activity, a desire to get away; not attributable, as 
in the "good old time," to plans of forays for scalps and plun- 
der, but to the desire of each head of a lodge or band to 
reach, before any one else does, the particular spot on which 
he has fixed for his location for the summer. No sooner has 
he reached it than all hands, men, women, and children, fall to 
work as if the whole thing were a delightful frolic. 

The last five years, more than any twenty preceding them, 
have convinced the wild Indians of the utter futility of their 
warfare against the United States Government. One and all, 
they are thoroughly whipped ; and their contests, in the future, 
will be the acts of predatory parties (for which the Indians at 
large are no more responsible than is the Government of the 
United States for the acts of highwaymen in the Black Hills, 
or train-robbers in Missouri), or a deliberate determination of 
the bands and tribes to die fighting rather than by the slow 



68 BUFFALO BILL. 

torture of starvation to which the Government condemns 
them. 

But the biilTalo is gone; so also nearly all the other large 
game on which the Indians depended for food. They are con- 
fined to comparatively restricted reservations, and completely 
surrounded by whites. They are more perfectly aware of the 
stringency of their situation than any white man can possibly 
be, for they daily feel its pressure. 

With no chance of success in war, with no possibility of 
providing food for themselves, they thoroughly comprehend 
that their only hope for the future is in Government aid, graz- 
ing cattle, and tilling the soil. 

They do not like it, of course; it would be unnatural if 
they did. They accept it as the dire alternative against star- 
vation. 

Basing arguments on the Indian contempt for work, many 
men in and out of Congress talk eloquent nonsense of the 
impossibility of ever bringing them to agricultural pursuits. 
The average Indian has no more hatred of labor, as such, 
than the average white man. Neither will labor unless an 
object is to be attained. Both will labor rather than starve. 
Heretofore the Indian could comfortably support himself in 
his usual and preferred life without labor; and there being no 
other incentive he would have only proved himself an idiot 
had he worked without an object. 

But now, with the abundant acres of land that his white 
conquerors, with simple justice, have allotted to him in the 
shape of reservations, with no opportunity to think of the 
excitement, honor, and glory of battle, his life is changed. 
He now finds that fences are to be made, ground broken up, 
seed planted; and the peerless warrior, with "an eye like an 



INDIAN HOME LIFE. 



69 



eagle," whose name a few short years ago was a terror and 
whose swoop was destruction, must learn to handle the plow, 
and follow, in fact, what he has often claimed in desire and 
spirit to follow, "the white man's road." 




OGALALLA CHIEFS. 



CHAPTER VI. 

EXPERT SHOOTING. 

Every custom, vocation, or study that has for its object 
the protection of home, self, or one's just rights, the defense 
of the weak or the protection of the innocent, is justly 
denominated " manly," anil commands universal respect and 
admiration. If such attributes or qualifications as a steady 
nerve, a clear, penetrating gaze, and intensity and earnestness 
of purpose, are combined with quickness of action and 
courageous bearing, the admiration grows stronger and the 
respect deeper. 

Years ago scarcely anybody save the professional duelist 
would ever have thought of making an accomplishment of 
rifle or pistol shooting, unless, like the enlisted soldier or the 
dweller on the prairies, a practical knowledge of fire-arms and 
their uses became an absolute necessity for self-protection or 
the performance of duty. Yet now so-called " fancy shoot- 
ing " is considered rather a "fad," and its aptest exponents 
are objects of laudation and applause. The huntsman is no 
longer a slayer of game and wild beasts as a means of subsist- 
ence for himself and family, or for sale to neighbors or in the 
public market. The elephant is now rarely killed for his 
t; sks, the tiger for his skin, or the buffalo (what few there 
are left of this species) for his flesh. Now the "chase" is a 
mere sport, like "hunting the covers "in Merrie England, and 
men boast of their prowess as hunters much as they do of 
their skill at billiards. Yet an expert with the rifle or th§ 



72 BUFFALO BILL, 

pistol is an object of applause and admiration, and even the 
more courageous of the fair sex love to try their skill at a 
target. For a time the old pastime of archery was revived, 
but, whether its difificulties or its present-day impracticability 
was the cause, it has been abandoned by the fashionable 
world, and shooting-galleries are now the "thing" rather 
than archery clubs. 

In the march of progress the club, the lance, the javelin, 
and the long-bow have been thrown aside, and modern inven- 
tion has given us the cannon, the shotgun, the musket, the 
rifle, and the pistol. Some writers have even argued, and 
ably too, that the invention of gunpowder had a most power- 
ful and active effect upon the civilization of the world. 

However, the acts of aiming and discharging the pro- 
jectile, and successfully striking the target, be it animate or 
inanimate, possess a rare fascination for the world at large. 
What boy has not enjoyed raptures of delight at the story of 
William Tell, and the fact of his having shot the apple from 
his son's head has made a more lingering and lasting impres- 
sion upon the readers of the story than his struggle to liberate 
his countrymen from the tyranny personified in Gessler; and 
you iconoclasts give mortal offense to the youth of the world 
when you dare assert that their hero of Switzerland is a myth. 
There is no story more interesting, told to the good little boy 
who regularly attends his Sunday-school, than that of David's 
wonderful marksmanship when, by throwing a pebble from a 
sling, he struck the mighty Goliath and slew him. David's 
after-history, his glories and his sacerdotal power, though 
ofttimes told the youthful Biblical scholar and repeated to him 
in sermons when he grows older, may have an effect, but still 



EXPERT SHOOTING. 73 

it is the incident of David's meeting with the giant and his 
victory over him that most surely impresses him. 

To learn the science of accurate shooting by constant 
practice in a gallery especially prepared for that purpose, the 
target being inanimate and incapable of retaliation, may, and 
often does, result in aptitude with the revolver and the rifle. 
To preserve this cleverness, however, the conditions must al- 
ways be the same. The proper light must fall correctly upon 
the target; nothin'g to disturb the serenity of the surroundings 
or to distract the attention of the shooter must be permitted. 

A grade higher comes the hunter. His targets are living, 
breathing objects. Sometimes he may stealthily approach, 
unobserved, and secure an aim while the object is at rest; 
again, the bird flies, the beast runs, and then his scientific cal- 
culation must be quick and accurate. But in both of these 
the disturbing element of probable, almost certain, retaliation 
is lacking. The excitement of rivalry or the enthusiasm, 
added to the uncertainty, of the chase may somewhat agitate 
the nerves of the shooter. His own safety is assured, how- 
ever. How often do we read of a meeting on the miscalled 
"field of honor" of two men, both famous as pistol-gallery 
shots; men with whom to hit the "bull's-eye" nine times out 
of ten shots is a common occurrence, yet who exchange leaden 
compliments that are as barren of results as would be the 
feeding of a hungry man on "angel food." What is the cause 
of this? It is the actual, assured knowledge that in this 
instance the targets are equally animate, equally prepared 
thoroughly for retaliatory action, both equally anxious, and as 
capable of hitting the target the one as the other, and a sure 
consequence is that the nerves of both shooters are " like 
sweet bells, jangled, out of tune," 



74 BUFFALO BILL. 

The soldier whose lessons in the handling of fire arms 
have been learned on many a hard-fought field has acquired a 
steadiness of nerve, a sort of reckless fearlessness, and, at 
times, even a contempt for danger which its constant pres- 
ence has taught him. All honor to the soldiers who in steady 
column, shoulder to shoulder, or in dashing charge to the shrill 
cry of the bugle, have fearlessly breasted the scathing fire of the 
enemy's guns. But in this case the inspiriting association of 
comrades, the encouraging sense of companionship, cheers 
them on, and they at least momentarily fail to really appre- 
ciate the thorough serioui-ness of their situation. 

How different from all these pictures is that of tlie daring 
scout, the intrepid cowboy, the faithful guide, of the unsettled 
West. To either of these danger is so constant, so frequent 
in its visitations, that it has become an expected presence. 
An ear cjuick to detect a rustle of the leaves, a footfall on the 
turf, the click of the hammer of a rifle; an eye to instantane- 
ously penetrate into the thickness of the brush; to detect, 
locate, and i)hotograph a shifting speck on the horizon; to 
measure distance at a glance, and to fix the threatening tar- 
get's vulnerable point in an instant are absolute necessities. 
Added t& 'these, as an absolute essential, must be nerves as 
tense as steel. A tremor of the arm, nay, the slightest quiver 
of a muscle, that sends the bullet a hair's-breadth from the 
point aimed at, may cost not only the death of the shooter, 
but the lives of those depending on him for safety. No fancy 
shooting this; for more than life — honor and reputation, the 
preservation of sacred trusts and cherished lives committed 
to his care, depend upon his coolness, his courage, and his 
ficcuracy. In a moment all will be oyer for good or ill, 



EXPERT SHOOTING. 75 

and upon his single personality all depends. The slake is 
fearful. 

These indubitable facts considered, is it surprising that 
these danger-baptized heroes of the West stand to-day as the 
most marvelous marksmen of the world? 

The amateur sportsman, the society expert rifle-shot, the 
ambitious youth, and even woman, to whom all real manly 
exploits and true heroism are admirable, all take sincere 
pleasure in witnessing the feats of marksmanship of the cow- 
boy, scout, or guide expert, and wonder at his marvelous 
accuracy. It is because actual necessity was the foundation 
upon which their expertness was built that these surpass all 
others in the science. What appears wonderful to others is 
in them but the perfection of art. 

Looking at expert shooting as a pastime, a science, or a 
means of protection or self-preservation, the awakening of the 
manhood of the country and the up-growing youth to its possi- 
bilities is surely to be commended and encouraged. No man 
is more to be credited with the accomplishment of this than 
Gen. W. F.Cody. His romantic and picturesque history and his 
wonderful accomplishments have attracted to him the atten- 
tion of America and Europe, and no one man is more capable 
of exemplifying the science of shooting than he. A graduate, 
with high honors, of the school where expert shooting is 
taught by the best practice and actual experience, he is master 
of his art. The object-lessons he gives are of incalculable 
benefit to the ambitious student of marksmanship, and sources 
of delight to all. His trusty rifle is now a social friend, 
whose intimacy is founded on dangers averted, heroic deeds 
accomplished, and honors nobly won, 



CHAPTER VII. 

A MOST FAMOUS RIDE. 

In the spring of 1868, at the outbreak of the violent Indian 
war, General Sheridan, from his headquarters at Hays City, 
dispatched Cody as guide and scout to Captain Parker at Fort 
Larned. Several bands of Comanches and Kiowas were in 
the vicinity, and Buffalo Bill, after guiding General Hazen 
and an escort of twenty men to Fort Sarah, thirty miles dis- 
tant, started to return to Larned alone. At Pawnee Rock, 
about half-way, he found himself suddenly surrounded by 
about forty warriors. By professions of friendship and warm 
greeting of " How, how! " Bill saw he could alone depend 
on cunning and strategy to escape. Being taken before 
Santanta, who Bill knew was expecting, a short time before, 
a large herd of cattle which had been promised by General 
Hazen, he boldly complained to the wily chief of his treat- 
ment, and informed him that he had been ordered to find him 
and deliver ''a big heap lot who-haws." The cupidity of old 
Santanta enabled Bill to regain his arms. Although declining 
an escort, he was followed, much to his alarm, by a dozen 
well-mounted redskins. Keeping up "a heap of thinking," 
Cody at last reached a depression that hid him from view, and 
succeeded, by putting the mule at his highest speed, in get- 
ting fully a mile in advance before the trailers discovered his 
object. 

Upon seeing the fleeing scout, there were no further 
grounds for suspecting his motives; so the Indians, who were 

(TT) 



78 BUFFALO BILL. 

mounted on excellent ponies, dashed after him as though they 
were impelled by a promise of all the whisky and bacon in 
the big father's commissary for his scalp. Bill was trying to 
save his hair, and the Indians were equally anxious to save it, 
so that the ride, prompted by these diametrically opposed 
motives, was as furious as Tam O'Shanter's. After running 
over about tliree miles of ground, Bill turned his head, only 
to be horrified by the sight of his pursuers gaining rapidly on 
him. He now sank the spurs a little deeper into his mule, 
let out another inch of the reins, and succeetled in increasing 
the speed of his animal, which appeared to be sailing under a 
second wind. 

It was thus the chase continued to Ash Grove, four miles 
from Fort Larned, at which point Bill was less than half a 
mile ahead of the Indians, who were trying to make line shots 
with him and his mule as a target. Reaching Pawnee Fork, 
he dashed into that stream, and as he gained the opposite 
shore, and was rounding a thick clump of trees, he was 
rejoiced to meet Denver Jim, a prominent scout, in company 
willi a private soldier, driving a wagon toward the post. 

A moment spent in explanation determined the three men 
upon an ambush. Accordingly the wagon was hastily driven 
into the woods, and posting themselves at an advantageous 
point they awaited the appearance of the red-skinned pur- 
suers. " Look out! " said Bill; "here they come, right over 
my trail." True enough, the twelve painted warriors rode 
swiftly around ihe clump of brush, and the next instant there 
was a discharge of shots from the ambush which sent two 
Indians sprawling on the ground, where they kicked out their 
miserable existence. The others saw the danger of their 



A MOST FAMOUS RIDE. 79 

position, and making a big circle rode rapidly back toward 
their war-party. 

When the three men reached Larned, Buffalo Bill and 
Denver Jim each displayed an Indian scalp as trophies of a 
successful ambush, and at the same time apprised Captain 
Parker of the hostile character of Santanta and his tribe. 

On the following day about eight hundred warriors appeared 
before the fort, and threatened to storm it; but being met 
with a determined front they circled around the post several 
times, keeping the soldiers inside until their village could 
move off. Considerable fear was entertained at the fort, 
owing to the great number of hostile Indians who practically 
invested it, and it was determined by Captain Parker as of the 
utmost importance to send dispatches to General Sheridan, 
informing him of the situation. Fort Hays was sixty-five 
miles distant from Fort Larned, and, as the country was fairly 
swarming with the worst kind of "bad " Indians, Captain 
Parker tried in vain to find some one who would carry the 
dispatches, until the request was made to Buffalo Bill. This 
expedition was not within Bill's line of duty, and presented 
dangers that would have caused the boldest man to hesitate; 
but finding all the couriers absolutely refusing to perform the 
necessary service, he agreed to deliver the message, provided 
that he could select the horse that he wanted to ride. Of 
course this requirement was readily assented to, and at lo 
o'clock at night, during a terrible storm, the brave scout set 
out, knowing that he had to run a very gauntlet of hostiles, 
who would make many sacrifices if by so doing they could 
lift his coveted scalp. 

The profound darkness of the night afforded him some 
security from surprise, but his fears of riding into an Indian 



80 BUFFALO BILL. 

camp were realized when he reached Walnut Creek. A bark- 
ing dog was the first intimation of his position, but this was 
speedily followed by several Indians pursuing him, being 
directed by the sounds of his horse's feet. Ey hard riding and 
good dodging, however, he eluded these, and meeting with no 
further mishap than being thrown over his horse's head by 
reason of the animal suddenly stepping into a gopher-hole, he 
reached Fort Hays shortly after daylight, and delivered the 
dispatches he carried before General Sheridan had arisen from 
bed. 

After delivering the message Bill went over to Hays City, 
where he was well acquainted, and after taking some refresh- 
ments lay down and slept for two hours. Thinking then that 
General Sheridan might want to ask him some questions 
regarding the condition of affairs at Larned, he returned 
to the fort and reported to him. He was somewhat aston- 
ished to find that General Sheridan was as anxious to send a 
messenger to Fort Dodge, ninety-five miles distant, as Captain 
Parker had been to communicate with his superior officer 
at Fort Hays; and more surprised was he to find that of the 
numerous couriers and scouts at the fort not one could be 
induced to carry the general's dispatch, though the sum of 
$500 was offered for the service. Seeing the quandary 
in which General Sheridan was placed, Bill addressed that 
official, and said: 

"Well, General, I'll go over to the hotel and take a little 
more rest, and if by 4 o'clock you have not secured some 
one to carry your dispatches, I will undertake to do it." 

The general replied: " I don't like to ask so much of you, 
for I know you are tired; but the matter is of great impor- 



A MOST FAMOUS RIDE. 81 

tance and some one must perform the trip. I'll give you -a 
fresh horse, and the best at the fort, if you'll undertake it." 

"All right, General; I'll be ready at 4 o'clock," replied 
Bill, and then he went over to the hotel; but meeting with 
many friends, and the "irrigating" being good, he obtained 
only the rest that gay companionship affords. At the 
appointed time Bill was ready, and receiving the dispatches at 
the hands of General Sheridan he mounted his horse and rode 
away to Fort Dodge, After his departure there was much 
debate among the scouts who bade him good-by respecting 
the probability of his getting through, for the Indians were 
thick along the whole route, and only a few days before had 
killed three couriers and several settlers. Bill continued his 
ride all night, meeting with no interruption, and by daylight 
next morning he had reached Saw- Log Crossing, on Pawnee 
Fork, which was seventy-five miles from Fort Hays. A com- 
pany of colored cavalry, under Major Cox, was stationed here, 
and it being on the direct route to Fort Dodge, Bill carried a 
letter with him from General Sheridan requesting Major Cox 
to furnish him with a fresh horse upon his arrival there; this 
tiie major did; so after partaking of a good breakfast 
Bill took his remount and continued on to Dodge, which 
point he gained at 10 o'clock in the morning, making the 
ninety-five miles in just eighteen hours from the time of 
starting. 

The commanding officer at Fort Dodge after receiving 
the dispatches remarked: 

"I am very glad to see you, Cody, and I'll tell you that the 
trip just made is one of the most fortunate I know of. It is 
almost a miracle how you got through without having your 
body filled as full of holes as a pepper-box. The Indians 



H'Z BUFFALO BILL. 

are swarmiiig all around within fifty miles of here, and to 
leave camp voluntarily is almost equal lo committing suicide. 
I have been wanting to send a message to Fort Larned for 
several days, but the trip is so dangerous that I can't find 
any one who will risk it, and 1 wouldn't bhime the bravest man 
for refusing." 

"Weil, Major, I think I might get through to Larned; in 
fact 1 want lo go back there, and if you will furnish me with 
a good horse I'll try to carry your message." 

"I don't think it would be policy for you to make the trip 
now, especially since you have done so much hard riding 
already. Besides, the best mount I could give you would be 
a government nude." 

"All right, Major, I don't want the best; second-best is 
good enough for me; so trot out your mule. I'll take a little 
nap, and in the meantime have your hostler slick up the mule 
so that he can slide through with me like a greased thunder- 
bolt should the reds jump on us." 

Bill then went off, and, after " liquidating" in true Western 
style, lay down in the major's quarters, where he slept soundly 
until nearly 5 o'clock in the evening, when, having replenished 
his canteen, he mounted the patieat mule and set out for Fort 
Larned, which was sixty-five miles east of Fort Dodge. 

After proceeding as far as Coon Creek, which was nearly 
half-way. Bill dismounted for the purpose of getting a drink 
of water. While stooping down the mule got frightened at 
something and jerked loose; nor did the stupid animal stop, 
i)ut followed the trail, keeping ahead of the weary and cha- 
grined scout for thirty-five miles. Half a mile from the fort 
Bill got within rifie range of his exasperating steed and gave 
him a furlough lo the eternal grazing-grounds. 



A MOST FAMOUS RiDE. 83 

After reaching Larned — carrying the bridle and saddle 
himself — Buffalo Bill spent several hours in refreshing sleep, 
and when he awakened he found General Hazen trying to 
induce some of the couriers to take his dispatches to General 
Sheridan at Fort Hays. Having been warmly and very justly 
praised for the long and perilous rides he had just completed, 
Bill again proffered his service to perform the trip. At first 
General Hazen refused to dispatch him on the mission, say- 
ing, "This is like riding a free horse to death; you have 
already ridden enough to kill an ordinary man, and I don't 
think it would be treating you properly to permit you to make 
this additional journey." 

But when evening came and no other volunteer could be 
engaged, as a matter of last resort Bill was given a good 
horse and the dispatches intrusted to him for transmission. 
It was after nightfall when he started on this last trip, and by 
daylight the next morning he was in Fort Hays, where he 
delivered th*? dispatches. General Sheridan was profoundly 
astonished to see Bill before him again in so short a time, and 
after being informed of his wonderful riding during the three 
days the general pronounced it a feat that was never equaled; 
and even now General Sheridan maintains that no other man 
could acco.npli.^h the same distance under similar circum- 
stances. To this day the rides here described stand on record 
as the most remarkable ever made. They aggregated three 
hundred and fifty -five miles in fifty -eight riding hours, or an 
average of more than six miles an hour, including an enforced 
walk of thirty-five miles. When it is considered that all tliis 
distance was made in the night-time, and through a country 
of hostile Indians, without a road to follow or a bridge to 
cross the streams, the feat appears too incredible for belief 



84 



BUFFALO BILL. 



were it not for the most indisputable evidence, easily attain- 
able, which makes disbelief impossible. 

General Sheridan was so favorably impressed with the 
self-sacrificing spirit and marvelous endurance of Buffalo 
Jiill, and being already acquainted with his reputation as a 
brave man, that he called the scout to his headquarters 
directly after receiving Major Hazen's dispatches, and said: 

"Cody, I have ordered the Fifth Cavalry to proceed 
against the Dog Soldier Indians, who are now terrorizing 
the Republican River district; and as the campaign will be 
a very important one, I want a first-class man to guide the 
expedition. I have therefore decided to appoint you guide, 
and tilso cJiicf of scouts of the command.'' 




PLENTY HORl,ES, OGALALLA SIOUX BRAVE. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

LE ITERS OF COMMENDATION FROM PROMINENT MILITARY MEN. 

The following letter was received with a photograph of the 
hero of "The March to the Sea," Gen. W. T. Sherman: 




GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN. 

New York, December 25, 1886. 
To Col. William Cody: 

With the best compliments of one who in 18S6 was 

guided by him up the Republican, then occupied by the Chey- 

ennes and Arapahoes as their ancestral hunting-grounds; now 

transformed into farms and cattle ranches, in better harmony 

(85) 



86 



BUFFALO BILL. 



with civilization, and with his best wishes that he succeed in 
his honorable efforts to represent the scenes of that day to a 
generation then unborn. VV. T. Sherman, General. 




LIEUTENANT-GENERAL P. H, SHERIDAN. 



Headquarters Army of the United States, 

Washington, D. C, January 7, 1887. 
Col. William F. Cody was a scout and served in my 
command on the Western frontier for many years. He was 
always ready for duty, and was a cool, brave man, with unim- 
peachable character. 1 lake pleasure in commending him for 
the many services he has rendered to the army, whose respect 
he enjoys for his manly qualities. 

P. H. Sheridan, Lieutenant- General. 



LETTERS OF COMMENDATION. 



87 




BREVET-MAJOR-GENERAL JAMES B. FRY. 



New York, December 28, 1886. 
Col. William F. Cody. 

Dear Sir: Recalling the many facts that came to me 
while I was adjutant-general of the Division of the Missouri 
under General Sheridan, bearing upon your efficiency, fidelity, 
and daring as a guide and scout over the country west of the 
Missouri River and east of the Rocky Mountains, I take pleas- 
ure in observing your success in depicting in the East the early 
life of the West. Very truly yours, 

James B. Fry, 
Assistant Adjutant-General, Brevet- Major-Getteral U. S. A, 



88 



BUFFALO BILL. 




MAJOR-GENERAL litL'ON A. MILES. 

Los Angeles, Cal., January 7, 1878. 
Col. Williaw F. Cody. 

Dear Sir: Having visiled your great exhibition in St. 
Louis and in New York City, I desire to congratulate you on 
the success of your e\ilerprise. I was much interested in the 
various lifelilce representations of Western scenery, as well as 
the fine exhibition of skilled marksmanship and magnificent 
horsemanship. You not only represent the many interesting 
features of frontier life, but also the difficulties and dangers 
that have been encountered by the adventurous and fearless 
pioneers of civilization. The wild Indian life as it was a few 
years ago will soon be a thing of the past, but you appear to 
have selected a good class of Indians to represent that race of 
people. I regard your exhibition as not only very interesting, 
but practically instructive, Your services on the frontier 



LETTERS OF COMMENDATION. 89 

were exceedingly valuable. With best wishes for your success, 
believe me, Very truly yours, 

Nelson A. Miles, 

Brigadier- General U. S. A. 




BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEORGE CROOK. 

Omaha, Neb., January 7, 1887. 
Hon. William F. Cody. 

Dear Sir: I take great pleasure in testifying to the very 
efificient service rendered by you " as a scout " in the cam- 
paign against the Sioux Indians during the year 1876. Also 
that I have witnessed your Wild West exhibition. I consider 
it the most realistic performance of the kind I have ever seen. 
Very sincerely, your obedient servant, 

George Crook, 
Bris:adier-General JJ. S. A. 



90 



BUFFALO BILL. 




BREVET-MAJOR-GL 



lUGENE a, CARR. 



"he is king of them all." 

Headquarters Mounted Recruiting Service, 

St. Louis, Mo., May 7, 1885. 
Maj. John AT. Burke. 

Dear Sir: I take pleasure in saying that in an expe- 
rience of about thirty years on the plains and in the mountains 
I have seen a great many guides, scouts, trailers, and hunters, 
and Buffalo Bill (W. F. Cody) is "king of them all." He has 
been with me in seven Indian fights, and his services have 
been invaluable. 

Very respectfully yours, 

Eugene A. Carr, 
B revet- Major-Gcneral U. S. A. 



LETTERS OF COMMENDATION. 



91 




MAJOR-GENERAL W. MERRITT. 



United States Military Academy, 
West Point, N. Y., January n, 1887. 
. . . I have known W. F. Cody (" Buffalo Bill ") for many 
years. He is a Western man of the best type, combining those 
qualities of enterprise, daring, good sense, and physical endur- 
ance which made him the superior of any scout I ever knew. 
He was cool and capable when surrounded by dangers, and 
his reports were always free from exaggeration. He is a gen- 
tleman in a better sense of the word which implies character, 
and he may be depended on under all circumstances. I wish 

him success. 

W. Merritt, 

Brevet- Major-Gcncral U. S. A. 

Late Major-General Volunteers. 



92 



BUFFALO BILL. 



War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington, August lo, 1886. 
To whom it may concern: 

Mr. William F. Cody was employed as chief of scouts 
under Generals Sheridan, Custer, Crook, Miles, Carr, and 
others in their campaigns against hostile Indians on our 
frontier, and as such rendered very valuable and distinguished 
service. S. S. Drum, Adjutant General. 




Washington, D. C, February 8, 1887. 
Mr. Cody was chief guide and hunter to my command 
when I commanded the district of North Platte, and he per- 
formed all his duties with marked excellence. 

W. H. Emory, 
Major-Qmeral U, S, A, 



LETTERS OF COMMENDATION. 



m 




COLONEL JAMES W. FORSYTH. 



Feadquarters Seventh Cavalry, 

Fort Mead, D. T., Februar}' 14, 1887. 
My Dear Sir: Your army career on the frontier, and 
your present enterprise of depicting scenes in the far West, are 
so enthusiastically approved and commended by the American 
people and the most prominent men of the United States 
Army, that there is nothing left for me to say. I feel sure 
your new departure will be a success. 

With best wishes, I remain, yours truly, 
James W. Forsyth, 

Colonel Seventh Cavalry. 



94 



BUFFALO BILL. 




BRIGADIER-GENERAL H. C. BANKHEAD. 



Jkrsf.y City, 405 Bergen Avenue, February 7, 1887. 
Hon. Il'm. F. Cody. 

Mv Dear Sir: I fully, and with pleasuie, indorse you as 
the veritable Buffalo Bill, United States scout, serving with 
the troops operating against hostile Indians, with whom you 
secured renown by your services as a scout and successful 
hunter. Your sojourn on the frontier at a time when it was a 
wild and sparsely settled section of the continent fully enables 
you to portray that in which you have personally participated 
— the pioneer, Indian fighter, antl frontiersman. Wishing you 
every success, I remain, 

Very respectfully yours, 

H. C. Bankhead, 
Briiradier-General U. S. A. 



LETTERS OF COMMENDATION. 



95 




COLONEL W. B. ROYALL. 



Hotel Richmond, 
Washington, D. C, January 9, 1887. 
W. F. Cody ('• Buffalo Bill ") was with me in the early days 
when I commanded a battalion of the Fifth Cavalry, operat- 
ing against the hostile Sioux. He failed every position and 
met every emergency with so much bravery, competence, and 
intelligence as to command the general admiration and 
respect of the ofificers, and became chief of scouts of the 
department. All his successes have been conducted on the 
most honorable principles. 

W. B. ROYALL, 

Colonel Foiirlh Cavalry U. S. A. 



96 



BUFFALO BILL, 




brevet-brigadier-general n. a. m. dudley. 

Headquarters First Cavalry, 
Fort Custer, M. T. 
I often recall your valuable services to the Government, 
as well as to myself, in years long gone by, especially during 
the Sioux difficulties, when you were attached to my com- 
mand as chief of scouts. Your indomitable perseverance, 
incomprehensible instinct in discovering the trails of the In- 
dians — particularly at night, no matter how dark or stormy — 
your physical powers of endurance in following the enemy 
until overtaken, and your unflinching courage, as exhibited on 
all occasions, won not only my own esteem and admiration, but 
that of the whole command, ^\'ith my best wishes for your 

success, I remain, your (jld friend, 

N. A. M. Dudley, 

Colonel Fir it Cavalry, Brci<ct- Brigadier-General U. S. A. 



LETTERS OF COMMENDATION. 



97 




BREVET-MAJOR-GENERAL JNO. H. KING. 



Tallahasse, Fla., January 12, 1887. 
Hon. William F. Cody: I take great pleasure in recom- 
mending you to the public as a man who has a high reputa- 
tion in the army as a scout. No one has ever shown more 
bravery on the Western plains than yourself. I wish you suc- 
cess in your proposed visit to Great Britain. 
Your obedient servant, 

Jno. H. King, 
Brevet-Major-General U. S. A. 



98 BUFFALO BILL. 

STATE OF NEBRASKA. 

To all ichom these presents shall come, greeting: 

Know ye, that I, John M. Thayer, governor of the State 
of Nebraska, reposing special trust and confidence in the 
integrity, patriotism, and ability of the Hon. William F. 
Cody, on behalf and in the name of the State do hereby 
appoint and commission him as aide-de-camp of my staff, 
with the rank of colonel, and do authorize and empower 
him to discharge the duties of said office according to law. 

In testimony I have hereunto subscribed my name and 
caused to be affixed the great seal of the State. 

Done at Lincoln this 8th dav of 
, _^ ^ March, A. D. 1887. 

( GRAND SEAL OF THE ) 

\ STATE OF NEBRASKA, ^ JOHN M. ThaVER. 

( MARCH I, 1887. \ i3y the Gomnor: 

G. L. Laur, 

Secretary of State. 



CHAPTER IX. 

BUFFALO bill's BOYHOOD. 

Having in the preceding pages given tiie scenes, condi- 
tions, surroundings, and types of characters that made up the 
theater of action in which Buffalo Bill bore so prominent a 
part, with the letters from gallant commanders stamping his 
career with the brand of truth, it is fitting to start my hero 
from the threshold of boyhood, and follow him through his 
most adventurous and phenomenal life up to the present day, 
where he stands unchallenged as the Chevalier Bayard of 
American bordermen. 

Buffalo Bill made his debut upon the stage of life in a 
little log cabin situated in the backwoods of Scott County, 
Iowa. His father and mother were good honest people, poor 
in this world's goods, but rich in hope, faith in each other 
and the result of their efforts, and confidence in the future. 

While struggling for success as a farmer Isaac Cody became 
seriously affected by the California gold fever that raged at 
that time; a party was organized, an outfit provided, and a 
start was made. A failure resulted, and all comprising the 
party returned to their respective homes at La Clair. 

Bill was sent to school, where he familiarized himself with 
the alphabet; but further progress was arrested by a suddenly 
developed love for boating on the Mississippi, which occupied 
so much of his time that he found no convenient opportunity 
for attendance at school, his parents, however, not having the 
slightest idea of his self-imposed employment as a boatman. 

, , . . (99) 



IQO RUFFAt.O HilL. 

Shortly after his removal to La Clair Mr. Cody was chosen 
justice of the peace, then was elected to the Legislature, posi- 
tions which he held with honor but without profit. 

A natural pioneer, he hunted for new fields of adventure, 
and following his inclination he disposed of a small ranch he 
owned, packed his possessions in one carriage and three 
wagons, and started for the plains of Kansas. Mr. Cody had 
a brother living at Weston, near the Kansas line, a well-to-do 
merchant of that place, with whom he stopped until he could 
decide upon a more desirable location for his family. It was 
on this trip that Buffalo Bill had his first sight of a negro, of 
whom he stood in great awe. It was also while on this expe- 
dition he ate his first wheat bread, something he had never 
heard of before, corn-dodgers being the chief staff of life at 
that time. 

Mr. Cody remained but a short while at Weston, when he 
went to the Kickapoo Agency in Leavenworth, Kan. He 
established a trading-post at Salt Creek Valley, while he set- 
tled his family upon a ranch near. by. At that time Kickapoo 
was occupied by numerous tribes of Indians, who were settled 
upon the reservations, and through the territory ran the great 
highway of California and Salt Lake City. In addition to the 
thousands of gold-.seekers who were passing through by way 
of Fort Leavenworth, there were many Mormons going west- 
ward, and this extensive travel made trade profitable. With 
these caravans were those fractious elements of adventurous 
pioneering, the typical Westerner, with white sombrero, buck- 
skin clothes, long hair, moccasined feet, and a belt full of 
murderous bowies and long pistols. Instead of impressing 
him, however, with trepidation, they inspired in him an ambi- 
tion to become likewi.se. Their skillful feats of horsemanship, 



BUFFALO rill's BOYHOOD. 101 

which he witnessed, bred in him a desire to become an expert 
rider, and when, at seven years of age, his father gave him a 
pony the measure of his happiness was filled to overflowing. 
Thenceforth his occupation was horseback-riding, and he 
made himself useful to his father in many ways. 

During his early life at this post Buffalo Bill spent much 
of his time with the Indians, who taught him how to shoot 
with bow and arrow, and he joined in their other sports, soon 
learning the Kickapoo language more readily than he had his 
alphabet. Being friendly with the Indians Mr. Cody at times 
gave them barbecaies, at which they indulged in their fantastic 
war-dances, the sight of which excited admiration in the 
youthful William. It was at this time that Buffalo Bill first 
met his friend Alexander Majors of the freighting firm of 
Russell &: Majors, and he has since then been his lifelong 
friend. 

Writers of American history are familiar with the disorders 
which followed upon the heels of the Enabling Act. The 
western boundary of Missouri was ablaze with the camp-fires 
of intending settlers. Thousands of families were sheltered 
under the canvas of the ox-wagons, awaiting the announce- 
ment of the opening of the Territory; and when the news was 
heralded they poured over the boundary-line and deluged the 
new domain. Tliose who came from Missouri were intent 
upon extending slavery into the Territory, while those who 
came from Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana were opposed to bring- 
ing slaves into the new Territory. It was over this question 
that the border warfare began; men were shot down in their 
homes, by the fireside, in the furrows behind the plow; widows 
and orphans multiplied; the arm of industry was paralyzed. 
The incendiary torch lit up the prairie, burning homes and 



102 BUFFALO BILL. 

destroying their storehouses and granaries. Anguish sat on 
every threshold, pity had no abiding-place, and for several 
years the besom of . destruction rendered every heart on the 
borderland sad and despondent. In this war of vengeance 
the Cody family did not escape. One night a body of armed 
men surrounded the Cody home. Knowing what Ihey had 
come for, Mr. Cody disguised himself and walked out of the 
house and managed to escape. Discovering this, the band 
carried off all the valuables in the house and about the 
premises, drove off the horses, and Bill's pony among them; 
but the pony escaped and came back to his young master. 
Learning that another attempt was to be made to capture Mr, 
Cody, having learned of his hiding-place, Mrs. Cody started 
Bill off on his pony to give warning to his father of his 
danger. The boy had ridden only a few miles when he came 
upon a party of men camped at the crossing of Stranger 
Creek. Hearing one of them call out, "That is Cody's son, 
catch him," rhc brave lad instantly started to dash through 
them, knowing that it was a matter of life and death to his 
father. He was instantly pursued, but eluded capture, joined 
his father, and warned him of his danger. From that time on 
Mr. Cody's visits to his home were made secretly, and soon 
after it was that he lost his life, dying from the effects of a 
wound he received. 

•After the death of his father, though a mere boy, Buffalo 
Bill applied for employment to Mr. .Alexander Majors of the 
firm of Majors & Russell, overland freighters. Mr. Majors 
said to him: 

" Billy, my boy, I will give you $25 a month as messenger, 
and this sum is what I pay a man for the same work." 

Bill gladly accepted the offer, and at ten years of age 



BUFFALO BILL S BOYHOOD. 



103 



began work. For two months, mounted on a little gray mule, 
Bill's duties were to herd cattle. At the end of that time he 
was paid his $50 in one-half dollar pieces, and, putting the 
bright silver coins into a sack, he started for home, feeling 
himself a millionaire. Every dollar of that money he gave 
to his mother. Thus began his services for the firm of 
Majors & Russell, afterward Russell, Majors & Waddell, in 
whose employ he spent seven years in different capacities, 
such as messenger, wagon master, pony-express rider, and 
stage-driver. 




LITTLE EMMA, DAUGHTER OF LONG WOLF, 



CHAPTER X. 

151LL KILLS HIS FIRST INDIAN. 

Like all boys Bill had a sweetheart with whom he was 
"dead in love," in a juvenile way, of course. He had a rival 
of whom he was terribly jealous. One day, attacked by his 
rival, who was an older and larger boy, Buffalo Bill defended 
himself with his pocket-knife, wounding the youth slightly. 
The cry at once arose, " Bill Cody has killed Steve Gobel! " 
and, terribly frightened at what he had done, Bill immediately 
took refuge in flight, the teacher in hot pursuit. Fortunately 
for Bill one of Russell & Majors" freight trains was passing 
beyond the hills on its way to the West. Reaching it he 
recognized the wagon-master with whom he had before served. 
He was concealed in one of the wagons until night, when he 
went to his home, bade his mother and sisters good-by, and 
continued on with the train to the far West. The trip proved 
one of deligluful experience to the boy, and on his return he 
was paid off with the rest of the employes, when he went to 
herding cattle for the same firm. 

After a few months spent at this work, he started with a 
herd of beef-cattle for Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston's army, 
which was then marching across the plains to fight the Mor- 
mons. Reaching South Platte River they were camped for 
dinner, and had no idea of danger near, when, with shouts and 
yells, a band of Indians dashed in upon them. A hot fight 
followed, and three of the party were killed. lUiffalo Bill, with 
the rest of the band, was driven to seek safety under the 

(104) 



BILL KILLS HIS FIRST INDIAN. 105 

river-bank, keeping the Indians at a safe distance with their 
guns. It was on this occasion that Buffalo Bill killed his 
first Indian, being at that time but eleven years old. As the 
cattle had been stampeded by the Indians, and the horses 
also, the little party was forced to return to Fort Kearney. 
After many hardships and passing through many dangers, 
the fort was reached, though several of the party were 
wounded and had to be carried by their comrades. A com- 
pany of cavalry and force of infantry, with one gun, were sent 
out to endeavor to capture the cattle, Buffalo Bill and his 
comrades accompanying the expedition. Upon reaching the 
place where the fight occurred, the bodies of their comrades 
were found literally cut to pieces, and but few of the 
stampeded cattle were captured. 

Upon his return to Fort Leavenworth the young Indian 
fighter found that he was published far and wide as the 
youngest Indian killer on record; in fact a juvenile celebrity. 
What bearing this taste of laudation had on his future career 
may easily be inferred. 

The following summer Buffalo Bill engaged at $40 per 
month, in gold, to go with the wagon-trains carrying supplies 
to Gen. Albert S. Johnston's army. The trail of the train was 
through Kansas into Nebraska, near the Big Sandy, then run- 
ning sixty miles along the Little Blue, striking the Platte 
River near old Fort Kearney; then up the South Platte, then 
across to the North Platte, near the mouth of the Blue Water, 
where General Harney fought his great battle in 1865 with 
the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. From this point the train 
continued on to the Great Salt Lake Valley. At that time Rus- 
sell, Majors & Waddell had upon the overland trails nearly 
seven thousand wagons; 75,000 oxen, 2,000 mules, and 8,ooq 



lOG BUFFALO BILL, 

men were employed, while the capital invested amounted 
to $2,000,000. The expedition was without adventure of 
importance until the South Platte River was reached. The 
country was alive with buffalo roaming in all directions, and 
among them were found some of the herd of cattle stampeded 
by the Indians long before. Discovering the herd of buffa- 
loes ahead, they at the same time sighted a party of returning 
Californians, and, being between two fires, the buffalo herd 
stampeded at once, and broke down the hills, some thousands of 
them rushing through the wagon-train. Wagons were turned 
over, poles were broken, buffaloes were mixed up among 
the terrified oxen and shouting men, who were unable to man- 
age their teams. Many of the oxen broke their yokes and 
stampeded, and the frantic buffaloes played havoc with the 
train. This caused several days' delay to repair damages and 
gather up the scattered teams. When the train reached 
within eighteen miles of the Green River, in the Rocky 
Mountains, a party of tweniy horsemen came up. They were 
covered at once with guns, and the wagon-train men found 
that they were in the hands of the Mormons, who were at 
that time engaged in hostilities against the Army of the 
United States. It was impossible to resist, and Simpson wcis. 
forced to submit, first, however, soundly abusing the apostles. 

The Mormons took from the wagons all the i)rovisions 
they could carry, then set fire to the train and drove off the 
oxen. The trainmen, however, were allowed to retain their 
arms, one wagon, six yoke of oxen, and provisions enough to 
last the party until Fort Bridgcr could be readied. 

It was late in November when the party reached the fort, 
and they decided to spend the winter there, in company with 
vibout four hundred other employes of Russell, Majors ik 



BILL KILLS HIS FIRST INDIAN. 107 

Waddell, rather than attempt to return, which would have 
exposed them to many dangers and the severity of the coming 
winter. During this period of rest the commissary became 
SO depleted that the men were placed on one-quarter rations; 
and at last, as a final resort, the poor, dreadfully emaciated 
mules and oxen were killed for food for the famishing men. 

Fort Bridger being located in a prairie, fuel had to be 
carried nearly two miles, and after the mules and oxen were 
butchered the men were compelled to carry the wood on their 
backs or haul i'. on sleds. 

But for the timely arrival of a train-load of provisions for 
Johnston's army many of the party would certainly have died 
of hunger. 

Arrangements having been made for a return to Fort 
Leavenworth, all the employes at Fort Bridger concluded to 
accompany the returning cavalcade. Simpson was chosen 
brigade wagon-master of the new outfit, consisting of two 
trains and 400 men. 

When the train approached Ash Hollow Simpson decided 
to leave the main road and follow the North Platte to its 
junction with the South Platte. The two trains had become 
separated, some fifteen or twenty miles between them, the 
latter train in charge of Assistant Wagon-master George 
Woods, under whom Billy was acting as " extra." 

Simpson, accompanied by Woods, desiring to reach the head 
train, ordered Billy to " cinch " (saddle) up and follow him. 
When the three reached Cedar Bluffs Ihey suddenly discovered 
a score of Indians emerging from the head of a ravine less 
than half a mile distant and coming toward them with great 
speed. 

"Dismount and shoot your mules," was the quick order 



108 BUFFALO niLL. 

issued by Simpson, who was at once alive to the situation. 
As tlie stricken animals drop))ed in their tracks the two men 
and little boy crouched down behind their bodies, which lay 
together in a triangle, and using their dead bodies as breast- 
works opened fire on the Indians with Mississippi yagers 
and revolvers, killing three and wounding two ponies. The 
redskins, surprised at the hot-bed tliey had struck, circled 
around and sped away again, hailing several hundred yards 
distant, evidently for consultation. This gave the trio time 
to load their weapons antl prej)are for a second charge, which 
they felt sure would be made. 

The Indians were armed with bows and arrows, which of 
course required close range to be effective, and this gave the 
little party an advantage which partly compensated for the 
superior number of their enemy. 

Little Billy showed so much pluck in the dangerous posi- 
tion he occupied that Simpson could not help praising him, 
and by way of further encouragement he said: 

" My brave little man, do you see that Indian on the right, 
riding out from the party to reconnoiter? " 

"Yes, I'm watching him," was the reply. 

"Well, suppose you give him a shot, just by way of exper- 
iment." 

Billy at once extended himself, and resting his gun on the 
body of the mule before him took steady aim and fired. 

"Bully boy! A splendid sholl" shouted Simpson, as he 
saw the Indian topple froni his horse, struck in the side. The 
distance was fully three hundred yards. 

After a long parley the Indians scattered, and came 
charging back again, whooping in a delirium of excitement. 
When they iiad approached within less than one hundred yards 



BILL KILLS HIS FIRST INDIAN. 109 

the besieged parly turned loose on tliem, shooting two more 
out of the saddle; but the Indians rushed on, discharging a 
shower of arrows, one of which pierced George Woods' right 
shoulder, producing a most painful wound. For a second 
time the red warriors were repulsed, and Ihey drew off again, 
evidently for the purpose of resorting to other tactics. Get- 
ting beyond the range of the yagers the Indians formed in a 
large circle, tethered their ponies, and disposed themselves for 
a siege, with the evident intention of starving out the brave trio. 
About three hours afterward, however, the cracking of bull- 
whacker's whips was heard, and soon the advancing train was 
seen coming over the hill. The Indians, appreciating what 
this meant, and gaining their ponies, rode down on the little 
party again, discharging another flight of arrows and receiv- 
ing a volley of bullets in return. No damage was inflicted on 
either side in the last charge, and the three were saved. 

After bandaging Woods' wound the train started again 
and met with no further detention or accident, reaching Leav- 
enworth in July, 1S5S. Wild Bill had been a special compan- 
ion of Billy's during the entire trip, and so warm had become 
the attachment between them that the latter gave him a press- 
ing invitation to go with him to his home for a short visit; an 
invitation that was accepted by Wild Bill. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE ROY MINER. 

Billy had been at home scarcely one inontli before he 
engaged himself as assistant wagon -master to another train 
which was made up at Fort Laramie to carry supplies to a 
new post just established at Cheyenne Pass. He got through 
this adventure without losing a team or a man. 

Returning to Laramie he engaged with a Mr. Ward, the 
post trader, to trap for beaver, mink, and otter on the Chug 
Water, and poison wolves for their peltries. This enterprise 
was not profitable, and two months after Billy returned to 
Laramie, and in a few days, in company with two others, he 
started back to Leavenworth. 

When they reached the Little Blue the three were jumped 
by a party of Lidians. The darkness saved them, after a chase 
of several hours. After "losing" the Indians the trio dis- 
covered a cave in which they resolved to spend the night. 
Lighting a match they were horrified to find the place tenanted 
by the bones and desiccated flesh of murdered emigrants. 
Without further investigation the three, badly frightened, 
regardless of cold and snow, pushed rapidly onward. An all- 
night journey brought them to Oak Grove, and there taking 
in a fresh supply of necessaries they resumed their homeward 
march, reaching Leavenworth in February, 1859. 

Billy was now fourteen years old, and unusually large for 
one of that age. His education having been neglected he, 
yielding to his mother's entreatie.s, resolved to attend a school 
just opened in the neighborhood of Grasshopper Falls, and 



THE BOY MINER. Ill 

for a period of ten weeks applied himself witli diligence 
and made most gratifying progress. This was the longest 
term of schooling he ever attended, and it is doubtful if all 
the schooling he ever received would aggregate six months; 
though he is now comparatively well educated, his knowl- 
edge has been acquired almost wholly by extensive travel and 
association with polished people. 

On the return of spring the old impulse seized on Billy 
again to seek the far West, where adventure and danger incite 
the restless spirit of brave men. The recent discovery of 
gold at Pike's Peak was a further motive for this move. 

Billy, despite his years, was now a man in size, and in com- 
mon with thousands of others he seized a pick and set out 
for the wonderful diggings. After digging around Aurora 
for a few days the igfiis fatiius led him farther up the mount- 
ains to Black Hawk, where he settled, and worked most 
assiduously for a period of two months without finding as 
much as a handful of pay dirt. In the meantime provisions 
were so high that it took a Jacob's ladder to reach the smell 
of cold beans. 

Billy became not only tired but disgusted with the result 
of his mining labors and resolved to get out of the country. 
He had no difficulty in finding others in camp of the same 
turn of mind as himself, and such as he desired as companions 
he induced to accompany him back. Of the numerous cara- 
vans and individuals who adopted as their motto "Pike's 
Peak or bust," Billy and his party fell back on the latter end 
of the bold legend. They were so badly " busted " (?), in fact, 
that the only conveyance left them was their legs. Setting 
out on these the party proceeded to the Platte River, where 
the idea possessed Billy that they might make the remainder 
of their journey to Leavenworth on an improvised raft. 



11^ Buffalo bill. 

By various means, but chiefly by killing game along the 
way, the party subsisted comfortably while they floated down 
the stream on a rickety collection of logs. Matters were 
satisfactory enough until they reached Jule's ranch, or Jules- 
burg, where having met a swifter current the raft struck a 
snag and went to pieces with a suddenness no less astonish- 
ing than the bath which instantly followed. Fortunatel}', 
though the North Platte is a broad stream it is generally 
shallow, and the party had to swim but a short distance before 
they found a footing, and then waded ashore. 

Everything having been lost with the raft, including their 
arms and such provisions as they had, the party stopped at 
Julesburg to wait for something to turn up. 

It so happened that the great Pony Express had just been 
established between Omaha and Pike's Peak, and other far 
Western points, including San Francisco. This route ran by 
Julesburg, where the company had an agent in the person of 
George Chrisman, who was well acquainted with Billy, the two 
having freighted together for Russell, Majors iV Waddell. 

Finding Billy out of employment, and e.xpress ritlers being 
scarce, Chrisman offered him a position as rider, which was 
gladly accepted. 

The requirements for this occupation were such that very 
few were qualified for the performance of the duties. The 
distance and time required to be made were fifteen miles per 
hour. Only courageous men could be employed on account of 
the dangers to be encountered, and such laborious riding could 
be endured by very few. Nevertheless Billy was an expert 
horseman, and having the constitution and endurance of a 
bronco he braved the perils and duties of the position and was 
assigned to a route of forty-five miles. 



CHAPTER XII. 

STORY OF THE PONY EXPRESS. 

The glamour and pageantry of the crusaders in the 
eleventh and twelfth centuries were revived in the fifteenth 
and sixteenth by Columbus, Cortez, and Pizarro, and repeated 
in the nineteenth by Taylor, Scott, Doniphan, and Fremont. 
As a resultant were the wonderful gold discoveries of 1849, ^^ 
California, and a State born full-fledged and armed in a day, 
as Minerva from the brain of Jove. Among the wonderful and 
prolific accomplishments of Western thought and genius was 
the conception and successful fruition of the Pony Express, a 
scheme that could only have been conceived and launched 
amid the mountain grandeur of the Western plains. It could 
have birth in no other place, and can be duplicated nowhere 
else. The world presents no theater for its reenactment. It 
was formulated by Senator Gwinn of California, and fashioned 
and matured to success by Russell, Majors & Waddell of 
the overland mail coach system of 1859, as established by 
Congress. 

The telegraph extended from the Atlantic seaboard to St. 
Joseph and from San Francisco to Sacramento. Two thou- 
sand miles of desert intervened. The ocean communications, 
via Central America, occupied twenty-two days, with propi- 
tious sea voyages. Could this be reduced? The stages took 
from twenty-one to twenty-five days, according to the weather. 
Duke Gwinn, as he was afterward called, suggested to W. H. 
Russell of the stage line that if the time could be shortened 

8 (113) 



114 



feUFFALO BILL. 



for communication on a central line, and kept open all the 
year, a great increase of travel and emigration, and the loca- 
tion of a railroail by the Ciovernment on a central route, would 
be the result. The conference resulted in the habiliment of 
the Pony Express, which eventuated in carrying a telegraph 
mail upon ponies from St. Joseph to Sacramento, 1,982 miles, 
regularly, from April, i860, to September, 1861, in ten days, 




RIDING PONY EXPRESS. 

schedule time, and the special express in December, i860, 
with a message of President Buchanan to Congress, on 
secession, in seven days and seventeen liours. a feat never 
before and never again to be accomplished. This was done 
through a desert country occupied by prowling savages and 
swept by violent storms, furious blizzards, and blinding snows. 
Crossing immense mountain ranges and trackless wastes 
of sand and sage-brush, grappling wiih mountain torrents 



STORY OF THE PONY EXPRESS. 115 

and with nature's wildest orgies, the hardy riders, whose 
watchword was " excelsior," always made (Deo voiente) the 
schedule time to the objective point. At St. Joseph and Sac- 
ramento, until the completion of the telegraph across the 
continent, the expectant crowd was never held in wait over an 
hour before the messenger waved his red flag of safety, and 
in the next instant slid from his panting steed and hastened 
to the office of the company with his bag of dispatches, worth 
its weight in gold. 

During the Mexican War Congress added two new regi- 
ments of mounted volunteers to the regular army under orders 
to lay out a military road on the route taken by Fremont 
in 1843 to Oregon. They were to locate posts, and changed 
old Fort Kearney, then at the mouth of Tabor Creek, where 
Nebraska City is now located, to the crossing of the Platte 
River, where Kearney is now situated, and called it New 
Fort Kearney, one at Laramie on the Platte River, fifty 
miles north of Laramie City, now a station situated on the 
Union Pacific Railroad, and one at old Fort Hall, a Hudson 
Bay trading-post near the present site of Pocatella. This 
was called the military route, and was the road traveled by 
most of the emigrants to California in 1849. Passing by 
Soda Springs and south of Snake River to the headwaters of 
the Humboldt, or St. Marys River, through Nevada, it passed 
through the South Pass and struck Bear River, now in Idaho 
and Utah. The emigration of 1850 diverged southward from 
Laramie and past Green River at its junction with Hams 
Fork, through Echo Canon and Salt Lake Valley westwardly 
via Reese River, striking the Humboldt lower down, and 
crossing the Sierra Nevada at the Truckee Pass and by 
Donner Lake. This was a much more direct trail to Califor- 



116 BUFFALO BILL. 

nia and was used mostly thereafter by emigrants in 1850-51. 
In 1854 two stage routes were established, one by Texas and 
El Paso, on the Gila River, to Southern California, and one 
via Salt Lake, the latter much the shorter, but mountainous. 
McGraw & Co. had the route on the military road from Inde- 
pendence by Fort Leavenworth under a government subsidy, 
and in 1859 Russell, Majors & Waddell became the owners of 
this mail line and operated it successfully for years. 

In 1859 Senator Gwinn, then United States Senator from Cal- 
ifornia, and a devoted Union man, appealed to the stage com- 
pany to expedite travel and cominuiiications on the military 




road, so as to have a central line available to the North and 
South alike, and to demonstrate the possibilities of operating 
it in midwinter. Strange to say, this grand Union man and 
able statesman went into the Rebellion and lost his wonderful 
prestige and influence in California, as well as a fortune, in 
his fealty to his native State of Mississippi, and in 1866 was 
made the Duke of Sonora by Maximilian, in the furtherance 
of some visionary scheme of Western empire, but soon 
died. His propositions were duly considered and responded 
to by that famous firm, representatives of thrift, enterprise, 
energy, and courage, who well deserve the commendation 
of history and the gratitude of their countrymen. 



STORY OF THE PONY EXPRESS. 117 

Russell was a Green Mountain boy, who before his major- 
ity had gone West to grow up wath the country; and after 
teaching a three-months' school on the frontier of Missouri 
had hired to old John Aull of Lexington, Mo., at $30 per 
month, to keep books, and was impressed in lessons of economy 
by the anecdotes of Aull that a London company engaged 
in the India trade had saved ;^8o per annum in ink by 
omitting to dot the " i's " and cross the "t's," when he was 
emptying his pen by splashing the ofifice wall with ink. Alex- 
ander Majors is still living, venerable with years and honors, 
a mountain son of Kentucky frontier ancestry, the colleague 
and friend of Daniel Boone; and William Waddell, an ances- 
tral Virginian of the blue-grass region of Kentucky, bold 
enough for any enterprise, and able to fill any missing niche 
in Western wants. 

The Pony Express was born from this conference, and the 
first move was to compass the necessary auxiliaries to assure 
success. Sixty young, agile, athletic riders were engaged and 
420 strong and wiry ponies procured, and on the 9th of 
April, i860, the venture was simultaneously commenced from 
St. Joseph and Sacramento City. The result was a success 
in cutting down the time more than one half, and it rarely 
missed making the schedule time in ten days, and in Decem- 
ber, i860, making it in seven days and seventeen hours. The 
stations were from twelve to fifteen miles apart, and one pony 
was ridden from one station to another, and one rider made 
three stations, and a few dare-devil fellows made double duty 
and rode eighty or eighty-five miles. One of them was 
Charles Cliff, now a citizen of St. Joseph, who rode from St. 
Joseph to Seneca and back on alternate days. He was 
attacked by Indians at Scotts Bluff, and received three balls 



118 



BUFFALO BILL. 



in his body and twenty-seven in his clothes. CliFf made Sen- 
eca and back in eight hours each way. 

Another of these daring riders of this Hying express was 
Pony Bob. 

Ikit the one of these pony riders who has won greatest 
fame was William ¥. Cody ("Buffalo Bill"), who passed 




through many a gauntlet of death while in his flight from 
station to station bearing express matter that was of the 
greatest value. 

The express was closed on the completion of a telegraph 
line by Ed Creighton of Omaha from that point to Sacramento 
City. The mail-bags were two poaches of leather, impervious 
to rain and weather, sealed, and strapped to the rider's saddle 
before and behind, carrying two ounce letters or dispatches 
at $5 each. 

The keepers of the stations had the ponies already saddled, 
and the riders merely jumped from the back of one to another; 
and where the riders were changed the pouches were 
unbuckled and handed to the already mounted postman, who 
started at a lope as soon as his hand clutched them. As these 
express stations were the same as the stage stations, the 
employes of the stage company were required to take care of 



STORY OF THE PONY EXPRESS. 119 

the ponies and have them in readiness at the proper moment. 
The bridles and saddles were light weight, as were the 
riders, and the pouches were not to contain over twenty 
pounds of weight. There were two pouches of two pockets 
each, and secured by oil-silk, then sealed, and the pockets 
locked and never opened between St. Joseph and Sacra- 
mento. 

This channel of communication was largely used by the 
Government and by traders and merchants, and was a paying 
venture, first semi-weekly and then daily, and but for the 
building of the telegraph would have become a wonderful 
success. 

Every two or three hundred miles there were located at 
the stations division agents to provide for emergencies in 
case of Indian raids or stampedes of ponies, and at the cross- 
ing of the Platte at Fort Kearney there was then employed 
the notorious Jack Blade, a Vermont Yankee, lost to the teach- 
ings of his early and pious environments, turned into a 
frontier fiend. He shot a Frenchman named Jules Bevi, whose 
patronymic is preserved in the present station of Julesburg on 
the Union Pacific Railroad. Slade nailed one of his ears to 
the station door and wore the other several weeks as a watch- 
charm. He drifted to Montana, and in 1S65 was hanged by 
the vigilantes on suspicion of heading the road agents who 
killed Parker of Atchison and robbed a train of $65,000. 
His tragic end, as related by Doctor McCurdy, formerly of St. 
Joseph, contains an element of the pathetic. He lived on a 
ranch near Virginia City, Mont., and every few days came 
into town and filled up on "benzine," and took the place by 
shooting along the streets-and riding into saloons and pro- 
claiming himself tQ be the veritable " bad man from Bitter 



120 BUFFALO BILL. 

Creek." The belief that he was connected with matters worse 
than bad whisky had overstrained the long-suffering citizens. 
The suggestive and mysterious triangular pieces of paper 
dropped upon the streets, surmounted with the skull and 
arrows, called the vigilantes to a meeting at which the death 
of Slade and two companions was determined. On the fated 
morning following the meeting he came to town duly sober 
and went to a drug-store for a prescription, and while await- 
ing its preparation he was suddenly covered with twelve shot- 
guns and ordered to throw up his hands. He complied 
smilingly, but proposed to reason with them as to the 
absurdity of taking him for a bad man. The only concession 
was permission to send a note to his wi''e at the ranch, and an 
hour was allotted him to make peace with the Unknown; 
ropes were placed around the necks of the three, and at 
the end of the time they were given short shrift, and were 
soon hanging between heaven and earth. While the bodies 
were swaying the wife appeared on the scene, mounted, with a 
pistol in each hand, determined to make a rescue; but seeing 
that it was too late she quailed before the determined visages 
of the vigilantes, and soon left the vicinity, carrying away, as 
if was believed, a large amount of the proceeds of Slade's 
robberies. 

Most of the famous actors in that memorable enterprise 
known as the Pony Express have passed beyond the confines 
of time and gone to join the great majority. In the summer 
of 1 86 1 the Pony E.xpress passed, with the overland stage 
line, into the ownership of Ben Holliday, one of those wonder- 
ful characters developed from adventure and danger, and 
nurtured amid the startling incidents of frontier life. Born 
near the old Blue Lick battle-field, he was at seventeen Colo- 



STORY OF THE PONY EXPRESS. 121 

nel Doniphan's conrier to demand from Joe Smith and Brig- 
ham Young the surrender of Farwest. At twenty-eight he 
entered Salt Lake Valley with fifty wagon-loads of merchan- 
dise and was indorsed by Brigham as being worthy of the con- 
fidence of the faithful. This secured him a fortune. At 
thirty-eight, at the head of the overland mail route, and at 
forty-five, the owner of sixteen steamers on the Pacific, carrj'- 
ing trade and passengers to Panama, Oregon, China, and 




rl Jj 




Japan. The stage route was sold to Butterfield, and ran until 
the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad. 

On the streets of Denver daily can be seen the grand 
figure of Alexander Majors, carrying his four-score years with 
a vigor that would shame half of the youth of the city. Six 
feet, lithe and straight as the red man he so often dominated, 
he is noted as the last of the Mohicans, and only waits, with- 
out fear and without reproach, for the final summons to that 
better land where the expresses are all faithfully gathered 
and the faithful rewarded by commendations for duty well 
performed. 

And more wonderful than the express itself is the history 
of the six lustrums since it ceased to exist. Two thousand 
miles of desert waste have been largely developed in a rich 
and valuable agricultural and pastoral region. The iron horse 
has supplanted the fiery bronco, and thought flashes with 
lightning rapidity from ocean to ocean. Civilization has 
crowned that terra incognita with seven States and built large 



122 BUFFALO BILL. 

and beautiful cities. Peace has spread her halo of beauty 
over the savage haunts and churches have supplanted the horri- 
ble orgies of Indian massacre. The mountains have yielded 
their treasures to the steady hand of industry — richer by far 
than the fabled Ophir — and the pactolian streams have 
gladdened the hearts of toiling thousands. All honor to the 
pioneers who blazed the way for this civilization. 

With this page of frontier history — the days of the Pony 
Express — will forever be associated the name of Billy Cody. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

A RIDE FOR LIFE. 

"There's Injun signs about, Billy, so keep your eyes 
open." 

So said the station boss of the Pony Express trail, address- 
ing Buffalo Bill, who had dashed up to the cabin, his horse 
panting like a hound, and the rider ready for the fifteen- 
mile flight to the next relay. " I'll be on the watch, Boss, you 
bet," said Billy Cody, the pony rider, and with a yell to his 
fresh pony he was off like an arrow from a bow. 

Down the trail ran the fleet pony like the wind, leaving the 
station quickly out of sight, and dashing at once into the soli- 
tude and dangers of the vast wilderness. 

Mountains were upon either side, towering cliffs here and 
there overhung the trail, and the wind sighed through the 
forest of pines like the mourning of depared spirits. 

Gazing ahead, the piercing eyes of the young pony rider 
saw every tree, bush, and rock, for he knew but too well that 
a deadly foe, lurking in ambush, might send an arrow or a 
bullet to his heart at any moment. 

Gradually, far ahead down the valley, his quick glance fell 
upon a dark object above the bowlder directly in his trail. 

He saw the object move and disappear from sight down 
behind the rock. 

Without appearing to notice it or checking his speed in the 
slightest he held steadily upon his way. 

But he took in the situation at a glance, and saw that upon 
eacli side of the bowlder the valley inclined. 

(133) 



124 



BUFFALO RILL. 



Upon one side was a frini;e of lieavy timber, upon the 
other a precipice, at the base of which were massive rocics. 

"There is an Indian behind that rock, for I saw his head," 
muttered the young rider, as his horse flew on. 

Did he intend to tai<e his chances and dash along the trail 
directly by his ambushed foe? 

It would seem so, for he still stuck to the trail. 
A moment more and he would be within range of a bullet, 
when, suddenly dashing his spurs into the flanks of his pony, 
Billy Cody wheeled to the right, and in 
an oblique course headed for the cliff. 

This proved to the foe in ambush that 
his presence there was suspected, if not 
known, and at once there came the crack 
of a rifle, the puff of smoke rising above 
the rock where he was concealed. 

At the same time a yell went up from 

a score of throats, and out of the timber 

on the other side of the valley darted a 

^---number of mounted Indians, and these 

rode to head off tlie rider. 

Did he turn back and seek safety in 
a retreat to the station.' 
No; he was made of sterner stuff, and would run the 
gauntlet. 

Out from behind the bowlder, where they had been lying 
in ambush, sprang two painted braves, in all the glory of their 
war-paint. 

Their horses were in the timber with their comrades, but 
they were armed with rifles, and having failed to get a close 
shot at the pony rider they sought to bring him down at long 
range. 




A RIDE FOR LIFE. 125 

The bullets pattered under the hoofs of the flying pony, 
but he was unhurt, and his rider pressed him to his full 
speed. 

With set teeth, flashing eyes, and determined to do or die, 
Will Cody rode on in the race for life, the Indians on foot 
running swiftly toward him and the mounted braves sweep- 
ing down the valley at full speed. 

The shots of the two dismounted Indians failing to bring 
down the flying pony, or their human game, the mounted red- 
skins saw that their only chance was to overtake their prey by 
their speed. 

One of the number, whose war-bonnet showed that he was 
a chief, rode a horse that was much faster than the others, 
and he drew quickly ahead. 

Below, the valley narrowed to a pass not a hundred yards 
in width, and if the pony rider could get to this well ahead 
of his pursuers he would be able to hold his own along the 
trail in the lo-mile run to the next relay station. 

But though he saw that there was no more to fear from 
the two dismounted redskins, and that he would come out 
well in advance of the band on horseback, there was one 
who was most dangerous. 

That one was the chief, whose fleet horse was bringing 
him on at a terrible pace, and threatening to reach there 
almost at the same time with the pony rider. 

Nearer and nearer the two drew toward the path, the 
horse of Will Cody slightly ahead, and the young rider knew 
that a death struggle was at hand. 

He did not check his horse, but kept his eyes alternately 
upon the pass and the chief. 

The other Indians he did not then take into consideration. 



126 nUFFAI.O BILL. 

At length that happened which he had been looking for. 

When the chief saw that he would come out of the race 
some thirty yards behind his foe, he seized his bow and (luick 
as a flash had fitted an arrow for its deadly flight. 

But in that instant Will Cody had also acted, and a revolver 
had sprung from his belt and a report followed the touching 
of the trigger. 

A wild yell burst from the lips of the chief and he clutched 
madly at the air, reeled, and fell from his saddle, rolling over 
like a ball as he struck the ground. 

The death cry of the chief was echoed by the braves com- 
ing on down the valley, and a shower of arrows was sent after 
the fugitive pony rider. 

An arrow slightly wounded his horse, but the others did no 
damage, and in another second Will Cody had dashed into 
the pass well ahead of his foes. 

It was a hot chase from then on until the pony rider came 
within sight of the next station, when the Indians drew off, 
and William Cody clashed in on time, and in another minute 
was awav on his ne.xt run. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

HELD UP BY ROAD AGENTS. 

While riding Pony Express another adventure happened 
to Buffalo Bill which illustrates his nerve under most trying 
circumstances and great cleverness in getting out of scrapes. 

It was when Buffalo Bill was in the Pony Express service 
between Red Buttes and Three Crossings, which included the 
perilous crossing of the Platte River, half a mile in width. 

He rode into the station at the end of his run to find that 
the man who was to go on from there had been killed by road 
agents the night before. 

There was nothing else for him to do but take the ride 
himself, so Bill started promptly to do so. He darted away 
upon his double duty, and yet as he rode away he considered 
that as his fellow-rider had been killed by road agents, he 
stood a very fair chance of sharing the same fate. 

It had become known in some mysterious manner, past 
finding out, that there was to be a large sum of money sent 
through by Pony Express, and this was what the road agents 
were after. 

Missing it after killing the other rider, Will Cody very 
naturally supposed that they would make another effort to 
secure the treasure. 

So when he reached the next relay station he walked 
about a while longer than was his wont. 

This was to perfect a little plan he had decided upon, 
which was to take a second pair of saddle-pouches and put 

(127) 



1:28 BUFFALO p.n.i.. 

something in them and leave them in sight, while those that 
held the valuable express packages he folded up in his sad- 
dle-blanket in such a way that the}' would not be seen unless 
a search was made for them. 

The truth was Buffalo Bill knew he carried the valuable 
package and it was his duty to protect it with his life. 

So with this clever scheme to outwit the road agents, if 
held up, he started once more upon his flying ride. 

He carried his revolver ready for instant use and flew 
along the trail with every nerve strung to meet any danger he 
might have to confront. 

He had an idea where he would be halted, if halted at 
all, and it was a lonesome spot in a valley, the very place for 
a deed of crime to be committed. 

As he drew near the spot Buffalo Bill was on the alert, and 
yet when two men suddenly stepped out from among the shrubs 
and confronted him it gave him a start in spite of his nerve. 

They had him covered with their rifles, and tliey brought 
him to a halt with the words, "Hold! Hands up, Pony 
Express Bill, for we knows yer, and what yer carries." 

" I carry the express; and it's hanging for two if you inter- 
fere with me," was the plucky response. 

"Ah, we don't want you, Billy, unless you force us to call 
in your checks; but it's what you carry, we want." 

"It won't do you any good to get the pouch for there isn't 
anything valuable in it." 

"We are to be tiie judges of that, so throw us the valua- 
bles or catch a bullet. Which will it be, Billy?" 

The two men stood directly in front of the pony rider, 
each one covering him with a rifle, and to resist was certain 
death. 



HELD UP BY ROAD AGENTS. 



129 



So Buffalo Bill began to unfasten the pouches slowly, while 
he said, " Mark my words, men, you'll hang for this." 

"We'll take chances on that. Bill." 

The pouches being unfastened now, Buffalo Bill raised 
them in one hand, while he said in an angry tone: 

" If you will have them, take them," 

With this he hurled the pouches at the head of one of the 
men, who quickly dodged and turned to pick them up, just as 




~^=:siT*f»J-- 



Buffalo Bill fired upon the other man with his revolver in 
his left hand. 

The bullet shattered the man's arm while, driving the 
spurs into the flanks of his mare, Buffalo Bill rode directly 
over the man who was stooping to pick up the pouches, his 
back to the pony rider. 

The horse struck him a hard blow that knocked him 
down, while he half fell on top of him, but was recovered by 
a touch of the spurs and bounded on, while the daring pony 
rider gave a wild triumphant yell as he sped on like the 
wind. 

The fallen man, though hurt, scrambled to his feet as 



130 BUFFALO BILL. 

quickly as he could, picked up his rifle, and fired after the 
retreating youth, but without effect; and Will Cody rode on, 
arriving at the station on time, and reporting what had 
happened. 

He had however no time to rest, for he was compelled to 
start back with his express pouches. He thus made the 
remarkable ride of 324 miles without sleep, and stopping only 
to eat his meals, and resting but a few minutes then. For 
saving the express pouches he was highly complimented by 
all, and years afterward had the satisfaction of seeing his 
prophecy regarding the two road agents verified, for they were 
both captured and hanged by vigilantes for their many 
crimes. 




AN AMERICAN. 



CHAPTER XV. 

A YEAR OF ADVENTURES. 

Receiving an invitation from an old friend named Dave 
Harrington to accompany him on a trapping expedition up 
the Republican River, Buffalo Bill gladly accepted it, and 
prepared for the perilous trip. 

The two started out from Salt Creek Valley with an outfit 
consisting of a wagon filled with traps and provisions, drawn 
by a yoke of oxen. 

It was near the middle of November when the two started 
on the expedition, Mrs. Cody standing in the door when the 
team moved off, wiping the tears from her eyes and giving 
bounteous blessings to her beloved boy, watching with pain- 
ful emotions until the white cover of the wagon which shel- 
tered her dearest treasure became hidden by the prairie 
undulations in the distance. 

The two made excellent progress, and met with no deten- 
tion, arriving at tlie mouth of Prairie Dog Creek early in 
December. Here they found an abundance of beaver, and 
trapped with such success that they secured 300 beaver 
and 100 otter skins before the severe weather interfered 
with their occupation. 

Having obtained a full load of pelts it was decided to 
remain in the dug-out which they had constructed until the 
beginning of spring, when the return trip could be made 
without dangerous exposure. 

During the period of waiting the two occupied much of their 

(132) 



A YEAR OF ADVENTURES. 133 

time shooting elk, large numbers of which were roaming con- 
stantly within convenient proximity. On one occasion while 
out hunting and in pursuit of a large herd of elk, while passing 
around a large rock projecting over a small ravine, Billy made 
a false step and was precipitated onto the rocks below, the fall 
breaking his leg between the knee and ankle. This accident, 
always serious, was doubly so under the circumstances, when 
no surgical aid could be had, nor any but a miserably insuffi- 
cient attention could be given to mitigate the injury. To add 
still further to the misfortunes of the suffering boy, only a 
few days before this accident one of the oxen had broken a 
leg and Harrington had been compelled to shoot the animal. 
Here the two trappers were, in the midst of winter storms, 
without a team, and Billy rolling in an agony which his 
partner was unable to relieve. 

After discussing the situation for some time, Harrington 
said : 

"Well, Billy, this is a bad box, and the only way to get out 
is for me to reach the nearest settlement and get a team to haul 
you home." 

The poor boy, though he well knew that the nearest place 
from which succor could be obtained was fully 125 miles dis- 
tant, and appreciated all the terrors of a long and painful 
waiting alone among the hungry wolves and bands of equally 
ferocious Indians, told Harrington to do as he thought best 
about making the trip. 

It is no less pathetic than astonishing the devotion which 
is so often found among the Western pioneers, whose uncouth 
language and grizzly garb, if taken as an index to their true 
character, would lead to the inference that they are destitute of 
that human kindness which redeems mankind and compensates 
our vices. 



134 BUFFALO BILL. 

Brave Dave Harrington, just like Cody himself, big- 
hearted, noble, generous, self-sacrificing, immediately pre- 
pared for the tedious winter journey. Collecting about and 
within convenient reach of Billy plenty of dried beef, water, 
and other provisions needful for the sufferer's subsistence, 
Dave set out on the long trip, bidding his companion to be 
cheerful and expect his return in twenty-one days. 

Finding himself utterly alone, poor Billy — I say " poor " 
because the facts can not fail to arouse the deepest pity and 
make us sympathize with him even n(jw in remembrance, 
because sensibly affected by the realization of his terrible sit- 
uation, Billy lay on his rude bed, nursing the inflamed ami 
painful fracture, nothing to relieve his lonesomeness save 
the howl of prowling wolves peering through the mud and 
sticks and under the door. Ten days passed, when one evening 
Billy was aroused by a singular noise outside the door. He 
heard voices, and his experienced ear told him they were 
Indians. Suddenly a dozen Sioux, led by Chief Rain-In- 
The-Face, broke into the dug-out. Billy rose up from his 
pallet and faced them as well as he could, expecting instant 
death; but fortune favored him, as the chief recognized Billy, 
having met him often at Laramie. The chief at once told 
Billy that his life was safe; but the Indians remainetl all night, 
feasting on the provisions found there, and when they left in 
the morning carried away his weapons. 

To add to his suffering a terrible snow-storm began, and 
Billy knew that it would retard the coming of Harrington. 
Starvation now threatened, and his leg became more pain- 
ful each day. At last the twenty-first day dawned; the fuel 
had burned out; the suffering boy was forced to gnaw chunks 
of frozen venison. 



A YEAR OF ADVENTURES. 



135 



On the twenty-ninth day Dave Harrington arrived at the 
hut with two oxen which he had driven through the snow. 
The meeting be- 
tween the two can 
not be described, 
and Billy heard how 
Harrington had 
braved every dan- 
ger and hardship to 
come back to his 
rescue. A bed was 
made of furs and 
blankets in the 
wagon, and making 
Billy as comfortable 
as possible Harring- 
ton set out for Junc- 
tion City. The sun 
now came out and 
melted the snow, 
and they experi- 
enced no further 
difficulty. 

Arriving at Junc- 
tion City they sold 
their furs at a good 
price, and also the 
team, and went to 
Leavenworth with a government mule train. Harrington 
would not desert Billy, and accompanied him home, where 
every kindness was shown to the brave man who had saved 




136 BUFFALO BILL. 

Billy's life. Soon after their arrival at the Cody home Har- 
rington was taken ill, and after an illness of, one week died. 
Even to this day to speak of Dave Harrington to Buffalo 
Bill, he will have something kind to say in memory of his 
dearest friend. 

It was months before Buffalo Bill recovered the use of his 
leg so that he could go again to work; then he applied for 
work on the Pony Express, and was engaged on a long and 
dangerous run. 

The condition of the country along the North Platte had 
become so dangerous that it was almost impossible for the 
Overland Stage Company to find drivers, although the 
highest wages were offered. Billy at once decided to turn 
stage-driver, and his services were gladly accepted. 

While driving a stage between Split Rock and Three 
Xllrossings he was set upon by a band of several hundred 
Sioux. Lieutenant Flowers, assistant division agent, sat on 
the box beside Billy, and there were half a dozen well-armed 
passengers inside. Billy gave the horses the reins. Lieuten- 
ant Flowers applied the whip, and the passengers defended 
the stage in a running fight. Arrows fell around and struck 
the stage like hail, wounding the horses and dealing destruc- 
tion generally, for two of the passengers were killed and 
Lieutenant Flowers badly wounded. Billy seized the whip 
from the wounded ofificer, applied it savagely, shouted 
defiance, and drove on to Three Crossings, thus saving 
the stage. 

This last trip proved so disastrous that it was decided to 
use a band of mounted men to patrol the trail. This force 
was placed under the command of Wild Bill, and Billy Cody 
accompanied the expedition they made into the Indian coun- 



138 BUFFALO BILL. 

try. It proved to be a complete success, and the hostiles 
were severely punished, many being killed and hundreds of 
horses captured. 

While connected with the stage line Billy started out alone 
on a bear-hunt. He had camped for the night and was pick- 
ing a sage-hen which he had shot, when he heard the whinny 
of a horse up the mountain. He at once proceeded to inves- 
tigate, and came upon a dug-out with several horses staked 
out near. Hearing voices within, and concluding they were 
trappers or hunters, he at once rapped on the door. The 
door was opened, and by the firelight he saw eight men, who 
he at once knew were outlaws. Two of these men Billy rec- 
ognized as having been discharged by the Overland Stage 
Company. Billy told them how he came to find their cabin, 
and he was asked where his horse was. 

" I left him tied at my camp down the mountain. I'll leave 
my gun here and go and bring him up," replied Billy, an.xious 
to get out of the hornet's-nest in which he found himself. 

Two of the villains at once offered their services to 
accompany him, to his great regret; but he could do nothing 
else than go with them, fully realizing the danger of his situ- 
ation. He knew if he returned to the cabin he would be killed, 
and so he decided to act to save himself. Quick as lightning 
he struck one of the outlaws a stunning blow over the head 
with his pistol, and as the other turned shot him dead; then 
running to his horse he leaped into the saddle and fled down 
the mountains. The trail was so rugged, however, that his 
progress was slow, and the shot having been heard in the 
cabin the outlaws were soon in full pursuit; but fortunately 
Billy managed to make his escape, eluding his pursuers in the 
darkness, but having to desert his horse to do so. 



A YEAR OF ADVENTURES. 139 

It was twelve hours before he reached Horseshoe, 
exhausted and half-famished. Reporting his adventure to 
Alf Slade, a party of ten started at once under Billy's guid- 
ance to the outlaws' cabin. They reached there after a ride 
of six hours and found a new-made grave, but the place was 
abandoned and there was nothing left to indicate their inten- 
tion to return. Billy was complimented in the most deserv- 
ing way for his bravery, and was put on the road again as 
express rider, Wild Bill being his alternate; and the two made 
belter time than any other riders on the road. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

A SOLDIER OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

Cody learning of the serious illness of his loved mother 
instantly saddled his horse and made all possible speed home- 
ward. He arrived at home to find his mother dying, and he 
remained by her side, a devoted nurse, until she died. 

Under the prairie sod, beneath the branches of a tree 
planted by the hands of the loving son, sleeps the pioneer's 
wife and a true hero's mother. Weeks after this most melan- 
choly incident in Billy's life he went to Leavenworth and 
joined the Seventh Kansas Jayhawkers, who were ordered to 
service in Tennessee and Mississippi. After several battles 
in Mississippi and Tennessee and hard service there the regi- 
ment was ordered to Missouri. The courage, cunning, and 
woodcraft displayed by Billy had not escaped the eye of his 
commander, and he was made a scout with the rank of ser- 
geant. Serving in the capacity of scout, soldier, and spy he 
rendered most valuable service to the North and was consid- 
ered the pride of General Smith's corps. 

As a soldier-scout Buffalo Bill won a great name and 
passed through numberless adventures. While with the army 
in Missouri Buffalo Bill again met his old " pard " of the plains, 
Wild Bill, who had also won fame as a scout and spy. 

Until 1865, Buffalo Bill remained in the army, and was 
then detailed for special service at headquarters in St. Louis. 
It was while there that he met Miss Louisa Frederici, a young 
lady with whom he at once fell in love. 

(140) 



A SOLDIER OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



141 



Buffalo Bill's phenomenal luck did not desert iiini as a 
lover, for the lady is to-day his wife. Having fixed the date 
for his marriage Buffalo Bill returned to the far frontier and 
accepted the position of stage-driver over the same route 
where he had killed his first Indian. He worked as a stage- 




BRINGING BUFFALO-MEAT INTO CAMP. 

driver until he saved up a sufficient sum of money to return to 
St. Louis and claim his bride. 

He was married in 1866, the 6th of March, and the happy 
couple took passage on a Missouri River steamer for Kansas, 
where their home was to be. Arriving in Kansas Cody went 
to Salt Creek Valley, where he established a hotel known as 
the Golden Rule House, which he conducted with profit until 
the old desire for life of stirring adventures induced him to 
sell out and seek employment as a scout. 

Going to Junction City he met Wild Bill, who was then 
scouting for the Government, and by his advice he proceeded 



142 BUFFALO RILL. 

to the military post at Ellsworth and at once went on duty. 
While scouting and guiding parties he first met General 
Custer, who with ten men was at Ellsworth, looking for a 
guide to conduct him to Fort Larned. Cody was selected for 
the duty, and to the day of his death Custer was a sincere 
friend of Buffalo Bill's. 

Upon his return Cody was ordered to report to the Tenth 
Cavalry as scout to guide an expedition against a large band 
of Indians who had attacked the force working on the Kansas 
Pacific Railroad. 

The Indians were followed rapidly and overtaken, and 
turning upon the regiment of colored troops they for awhile 
stampeded them, capturing the howitzer. Major Ames, how- 
ever, rallied his men, and though badly wounded recaptured 
the gun; but Cody discovering that another large force of 
Indians was near at hand a retreat was begun, in which the 
colored troops made remarkably good time. Night approach- 
ing, the remnant of the command succeeded in reaching Hays, 
and Cody declared that he would " never go Indian hunting 
again with colored warriors," but has since paid generous 
tribute to their more experienced records. 

While at Ellsworth Buffalo Bill met William Rose, a man 
of many schemes and a railroad contractor. He disclosed to 
Buffalo Bill a scheme to build a city and become a millionaire 
out of its rise in value. Cody entered into the undertaking 
with zest, selected a site on Big Creek one mile from Fort 
Hays, and the town was duly laid out and the first house 
built. The town was then christened Rome, and a lot was 
donated to every one who would erect a building thereon. 
In one month's time there were 200 residences, 41 stores, 
and 20 saloons in Rome, and lots were selling at $50 each. 



A SOLDIER OF THE CIVIL WAR. 143 

Rome had begun to howl. But just as the dream of wealth 
was about to be realized a stranger arrived in town. He 
was the agent for the Kansas Pacific road, and not being 
able to make terms with the two owners of the town, Cody 
and Rose, he went west of Rome and laid out a town which 
he named Hays City. As he placed there a machine-shop, 
round-house, and depot, Rome was left out in the cold, and 
Cody saw his anticipated fortune fade from his grasp. 




SCOUTING FOR BUFFALOES. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

A CHAMPION BUFFALO-HUNTER. 

Having given up tlie real-estate business, Buffalo Bill 
received a proposition from the Goddard Brothers, who had 
contracted to furnish subsistence for thousands of construc- 
tion employes of the Kansas Pacific Railroad. The amount 
required was very large, to procure which involved hard 
riding; but the labor was small compared with the danger to be 
incurred from the Indians, who were killing every white man 
they could find in that section. Nevertheless, an offer of 
$500 per month for the service made Billy unmindful 
of the exertion or peril, and he went to work under con- 
tract to supply all the meat required. During this engage- 
ment he had no end of wonderful escapes from bands of 
Indians, not a few of whom he sacrificed to secure his own 
safety. By actual count he also killed, under his contract with 
the Goddard Brothers, four thousand two hundred and eighty 
buffaloes. To appreciate the extent of this slaughter, by 
approximate measurement these buffaloes, if laid on the 
ground end to end, would make a line more than five miles 
long; and if placed on top of each other, they would make a 
pile two miles high. 

By special arrangements all the heads of the largest buffa- 
loes killed by Bill were preserved and delivered to the Kansas 
Pacific Railroad Company, by which they were turned into 
excellent advertisements for the road. Many of these heads 
may still be seen in prominent places, marking the center of 
an oval board containing the advertisement of the road. 

10 (145) 



146 BUFFALO BILL. 

So well had Cody performed his part of the contract that 
the men connected with the Kansas Pacific road gave him 
the appellation by which he is still known throughout the 
world, "Buffalo Bill." 

A record of all his battles with the Indians during this 
period of professional hunting would be so long that few 
could read it without tiring, for there is a sameness connected 
with attacks and escapes which it is difficult to recite in lan- 
guage always sparkling with interest. But Buffalo Bill, being 
a brave man under all circumstances when bravery is essen- 
tial and cautious when that element subserved the purpose 
better, was almost daily in a position of danger, and many 
times escaped almost like the Hebrew children from the 
furnace. 

So justly celebrated had Buffalo Bill now become that Kit 
Carson, on his return from Washington City in the fall of 
1867, stopped at Hays City to make his acquaintance. Carson 
was so well pleasetl with Bill's appearance and excellent social 
qualifications that he remained for several days the guest of 
the celebrated buffalo-killer and scout. Upon parting, the 
renowned Kit expressed the warmest admiration for his host, 
and conveyed his consideration by inviting B'\\\ to visit him at 
Fort Lyon, Colo., where he intended making his home. 
But the death of Carson the following May prevented the 
visit. 

Like every other man who achieves distinction by supe- 
rior excellence in some particular calling, Buffalo Bill (who 
had now shed the familiar title of Billy) had his would-be 
rivals as buffalo-killers. Among this number was a well- 
known scout named Billy Comstock, who sought to dispute 
the claim of champion. Comstock was quite famous among 



A CHAMPION BUFFALO-HUNTER. 147 

the Western army, being one of the oldest scouts and most 
skillful hunters. He was murdered by Indians seven years 
after the event about to be recorded, while scouting for 
Custer. 

Buffalo Bill was somewhat startled one day upon receipt 
of a letter from a well-known army officer, offering to wager 
the sum of $500 that Comstock could kill a greater number of 
buffaloes in a certain given time, under stipulated conditions, 
than any other man living. This was, of course, a challenge to 
Buffalo Bill, who, upon mentioning the facts, found hundreds 
of friends anxious to accept the wager, or who would put up 
any amount that Bill's claim to the championship could not be 
successfully disputed by any person living. 

The bet was promptly accepted, and the following 
conditions agreed to: A large herd of buffaloes being found, 
the two men were to enter the drove at 8 o'clock a. m., and 
employ their own tactics for killing until 4 o'clock p. m., at 
the end of which time the one having killed the largest num- 
ber was to be declared winner of the wager and also the 
"champion buffalo-killer of America." To determine the 
result of the hunt, a referee was to accompany each of 
the hunters on horseback and keep the score. 

The place selected for the trial was twenty miles east of 
Sheridan, Kan., where the buffaloes were plentiful, and the 
country being a level prairie rendered the hunt easy and 
afforded an excellent view for those who wished to witness 
the exciting contest. 

Comstock was well mounted on a strong, spirited horse, and 
carried a 42-caliber Henry rifle. Buffalo Bill appeared on his 
famous horse Old Brigham; and in this he certainly had 
great advantage, for this sagacious animal knew all about his 



148 BUFFALO BILL. 

rider's style of hunting buffaloes, and therefore needed no 
reining. 

The party rode out on the prairie at an early hour in the 
morning, and soon discovered a herd of about one hundred 
buffaloes grazing on a beautiful stretch of ground just suited 
for the work in hand. The two hunters rode rapidly forward, 
accompanied by their referees, while the spectators followed 
IOC yards in the rear. At a given signal the two contestants 
dashed into the center of the herd, dividing it so that Bill 
took the right half while Comstock took those on the left. 

Now the sport began in magnificent style, amid the cheers 
of excited spectators, who rode as near the contestants as 
safety and non-interference permitted. Buffalo Bill, after 
killing the first half-dozen stragglers in the herd, began an 
exhibition of his wonderful skill and strategy; by riding at 
the head of the herd and pressing the leaders hard toward the 
left, he soon got the drove to circling, killing those that were 
disposed to break off on a direct line. In a short time wit- 
nesses of tills novel contest saw Buffalo Bill driving his por- 
tion of the herd in a beautiful circle, and in less than half an 
hour he had all those in his bunch, numbering thirty-eight, 
lying around within a very small compass. 

Comstock, in the meantime, had done some fine work, but 
by attacking the rear of his herd he had to ride directly 
awav from the crowd of anxious spectators. He succeeded 
in killing twenty-three, which, however, lay irregularly over a 
space three miles in extent, and therefore while he killed 
fewer than his rival, he at the same time manifested less skill, 
which by contrast showed most advantageously for Buffalo 
Bill. 

All the party having returned to the apex of a beautiful 



A CHAMPION nUFFALO-HUNTER. ' 149 

knoll, a large number of champagne bottles were produced, 
and amid volleys of flying corks toasts were drunk to the 
buffalo heroes, Buffalo Bill being especially lauded, and now 
a decided favorite. 

But these ceremonies were suddenly interrupted by the 
appearance of another small herd of buffalo cows and calves, 
into which the two contestants charged precipitately. In this 
" round " Bill scored eighteen, while Comstock succeeded in 
killing only fourteen. 

The superiority of Buffalo Bill was now so plainly shown 
that his backers, as well as himself, saw that he could afford 
to give an exhibition of his wonderful horsemanship, while 
continuing the contest, without fear of losing the stakes. 
Accordingly, after again regaling themselves with champagne 
and other appetizing accessories, the cavalcade of interested 
spectators rode northward for a distance of three miles, 
where they discovered a large herd of buffaloes quietly 
browsing. The party then halted, and Buffalo Bill, removing 
both saddle and bridle from Old Brigham, rode off on his 
well-trained horse, directing him solely by motions of his hand. 
Reaching the herd by circling and coming down upon it from 
the windward quarter, the two rival hunters rushed upon the 
surprised buffaloes and renewed the slaughter. After killing 
thirteen of the animals, Buffalo Bill drove one of the largest 
buffaloes in the herd toward the party, seeing which many 
among the interested spectators became very much fright- 
ened, showing as much trepidation, perhaps, as they would 
have manifested had the buffalo been an enraged lion. But 
when the ponderous, shaggy-headed beast came within a few 
yards of the party Bill shot it dead, thus giving a grand coup 
d'etat to the day's sport, which closed with this magnificent 
exhibition of skill and daring. 



150 BUI'FALIJ BILL. 

The day having now been far spent, and time called, it was 
found that the score stood thus: Buffalo Bill, sixt3'-nine; Com- 
stock, forty-six. The former was therefore declared winner, 
and entitled to the championship as the most skillful buffalo- 
slayer in America, and crowned forever with the title of 
"Buffalo Bill." 

In referring to the fact that he has the record of having 
killed far more game than other great hunters, Buffalo Bill, 
who always speaks most modestly of all his exploits, gives 
as a reason for his scoring greater numbers of buffalo, bear, 
deer, elk, antelo[)e, etc., that the huntsmen of years ago were 
armed with muzzle loading weapons, while it fell to his lot to 
get the advantage of late inventions and be armed with the 
very best of repeating riiles. 

The fact that Buffalo Bill makes tiiis statement in favor 
of others shows how willing he is to give credit where credit 
is due. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

SCOUT, GUIDE, AND INDIAN FIGHTER. 

After the great buffalo-killing match the name of Buffalo 
Bill became familiar all over the country, and his exploits 
were topics people never grew tired of discussing. All his 
great battles with the Indians, valuable services as a scout, 
and hairbreadth escapes were told and retold, not only at 
the fireside, but around the camp-fires. 

In the spring of 1868 a violent Indian war broke out in 
Kansas, and General Sheridan, in order to be on the field, made 
his headquarters at Hays City. Sending for Buffalo Bill Gen- 
eral Sheridan appointed him chief of scouts. From that 
time on Buffalo Bill acted as scout and guide in all the 
principal military operations upon that part of the frontier. 

He was also appointed chief of scouts for the Fifth Cavalry 
to proceed against the Dog Soldier Indians. The campaigns 
of the Fifth Cavalry are matters of history, as are also the 
services of Buffalo Bill, the letters of ihe commanding officers 
speaking for themselves. 

During his services as scout he served directly untler 
General Forsyth, Colonel Royall, Gen. E. A Carr, General 
Hazen, General Penrose, and others. 

These officers, who had won fame upon the battle-fields of 
the Civil War, many of them wearing the stars of a general, 
found themselves ordered to the far frontier — when the South 
had given up the struggle — to oppose the Indians, who were 
making desperate efforts to kill off their pale-face foes, 

(151) 




BUFFALO BILL Ai A bCOUl 



SCOUT, GUIDE, AND INDIAN FIGHTER. 153 

The truth was that the Indians regarded the Civil War 
with feelings of delight, and as a blessing to them, as they 
supposed that one side would utterly wipe out the other side, 
and their victors being weakened by the struggle the red- 
skins could consolidate their forces, and attacking the remain- 
ing whites drive them off the face of the earth. 

They certainly made a bold effort to do so, and in the war 
that followed the general officers were glad indeed to have 
the services of Buffalo Bill as scout, guide, and Indian fighter. 

In all the operations of the army upon the frontier Buf- 
falo Bill's identity with them was such that to recount his val- 
uable services would be only to go over the pages of history. 
The stories of his adventures, scouting expeditions, hunting 
down desperadoes as a Government officer, and guiding of the 
armies through trackless wildernesses have been told and 
retold until every school-boy is familiar with them, and the 
name of no one man is better known than that of Buffalo Bill. 

Early in September of 1871 a grand hunt was projected 
by General Sheridan for the purpose of giving a number of 
prominent gentlemen a buffalo-hunt. James Gordon Bennett 
of the New York Herald, Gen. Anson Stager of the Western 
Union Telegraph, Lawrence R. and Leonard W. Jerome, and 
Generals Davis, Fitzhughes, and Rucker, with Sergeant-Gen- 
eral Arsch, Carrol Livingston, and others, formed the party. 
Immediately upon their arrival at Fort McPherson General 
Sheridan sent for Buffalo Bill, introducing him with flatter- 
ing remarks to each one of the hunting-party and telling him 
that he was to be their special guide and scout. The party 
hunted over a large extent of territory, killing many buffaloes, 
turkeys, jack-rabbits, and antelopes, and greatly enjoyed their 
visit to the plains. 



154 nUFFALO RILL. 

In 1872 Buffalo Bill was visitetl by General Forsyth, who 
arranged with him a grand buffalo-hunt for the Duke Alexis, 
who was then visiting this country. B.uffalo Bill at once 
conceived (he idea of engaging a large number of Indians to 
join in the hunt, to make the affair a more pleasurable one 
for the grand duke. On the day of the hunt Buffalo Bill 
loaned the grand duke his splendid buffalo horse Buckskin 
Joe, and riding by his side instructed him in the manner 
of shooting buffaloes. 

That night in camp numbers of glasses of champagne were 
disposed of in drinking to the great success of the Grand Duke 
Alexis i'.s a buffalo-hunter. It was soon after the Alexis hunt 
that Buffalo Jiill received an invitation from Janies Gordon 
Bennett, August Belmont, and others of equal prominence to 
visit theEasi. At the earnest solicitation of General Sheridan 
Bill accepted the invitation, and thus it was that he entered 
upon the life so different from that in which he had passed 
his earlier years. 

Attending the theater one night to see a frontier play 
bearing his own name — J. B. Studley taking the character of 
Buffalo Bill — he conceived the idea of going u[)on the stage 
and playing himself, and thus it was that he became an 
actor, winning fame and fortune through his enterprises. 
Having introduced upon the stage Indians as actors, Buffalo 
Bill decided upon reproducing in miniature scenes in wild life 
upon the frontier, and from this sprung the Wild West, the 
greatest exhibition ever known. 

During his life as an actor and his career as the head of 
the Wild West exhibition Buffalo Bill obeyed every call to the 
frontier whenever there wasany Irouble among the Indians, and 
at once resumed his duties as scout, guide, and Indian fighter, 




GENERAL MILES AN 



D BUFFALO BILL VIEWING THE HOSTI..ES VILLAGE IN THE 
UAST INDIAN WAR. 



156 BUFFALO BILL. 

winning added laurels thereby and conclusively proving that 
through his life in cities his heart, brain, and hand had not 
lost their cunning or courage and the nobility of his nature 
had not suffered through contact with the world, nor had he 
been spoiled by applause and praise. 

After the massacre of Custer's band there was great 
activity in military movements in the Northwest, and as chief 
of scouts under Merrilt, Crook, and other generals Buffalo 
Bill's career was a most brilliant one. During the last Indian 
campaign Buffalo Bill's valuable services were publicly recog- 
nized by Gen. Nelson A. Miles, one of our greatest Indian 
fighters, and who so quickly crushed the Indians in their late 
rising, when Sitting Bull lost his life. 

Buffalo Bill is one of the few famous scouts who has justly 
won the renown which encircles his name. His exploits 
have MC'^ii so numerous, involving a display of such extraor- 
dinary daring and magnificent nerve, that language can not 
exaggerate them. General Sheridan often asserted that 
Buffalo Bill had "slain as many Indians as any white man 
that ever lived." It would be no credit to this daring scout 
if tliese Indians had fallen without justification; but since 
they were the victims of legitimate warfare and were slain in 
the performance of a sworn duty, Buffalo Bill may properly 
wear the laurels and deserve the plaudits of civilization — 
whose effective instrument he has been — for the friendship 
he has displayed for the red man in times of peace. 

As the noted scout is revealing to the eyes of the whole 
world the scenes in which he has been a participant, there are 
few indeed who do not care to see the Wild West in minia- 
ture as he portrays it with the aid of his Indians and cowboys, 
and give him praise for his phenomenal success. Having 



SCOUT, GUIDE, AND INDIAN FIGHTER. 157 

produced the Wild West in all the large cities of America, 
Buffalo Bill decided, so to speak, to " carry the war into 
Africa," and the result was that with his partner, Mr. Nate 
Salisbury, an actor of renown, he invaded first the English 
capital, then the other capitals of Europe, his enterprise every- 
where winning the plaudits of royalty, the press, and the 
public. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

BUFFALO bill's " PARDS " OF THE PLAINS. 

To gain great local and national fame as a plains 
celebrity in the days of old was not an easy task; rather 
one of the most competitive struggles that a young man could 
possibly engage in. The vast, comparatively unknown, even 
called great, American Desert of twenty-five and thirty years 
ago was peopled only by the descendants of the sturdy pio- 
neers of the then far West — Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, 
Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, etc. — -born, raised, and used to hard- 
ships and danger; and attracted only the resolute, determined 
adventurers of the rest of the world, seeking an outlet for 
pent-up natures imbued with love of daring adventure. 
Hundreds of men achieved local, and great numbers national, 
fame for the possession of every manly quality that goes to 
make up the romantic hero of that once dark and bloody 
ground. When it is brought to mind the work engaged in — 
the carving out of the advance paths for the more domes- 
tically inclined settler; of the dangers and excitements of 
hunting and trapping; of carrying dispatches, stage-driving, 
feighting cargoes of immense value, guiding successfully the 
immense wagon-trains, gold-hunting — it is easy to conceive 
what a class of sturdy, adventurous young spirits entered the 
arena to struggle in a daily deadly, dangerous game to win 
the "bubble reputation." When such an army of the best 
human material battled for supremacy, individual distinction 
gained by the unwritten law of unprejudiced popular promo- 

(159) 



160 BUFFALO BILL. 

tion possessed a value that made its acquirer a " plains celeb- 
rity," stamped indelibly with an honored title rarely possessed 
unless fairly, openly, and justly won — a prize so pure that its 
ownership, while envied, crowned the victor with the friend- 
ship, following, and admiration of the contestants. Thus 
Boone, Crocket, Carson, Beal, Fremont, Cody, Bridger, Kin- 
man, Hickok, Cosgrove, Comstock, Frank North, and others 
will live in the romance, the poetry, and history of their 
distinctive work forever. The same spirit and circumstances 
have furnished journalists innumerable, who in the AVest 
imbibed the sterling qualities they afterward used to such 
effect — notably, Henry M. Stanley, who (in 1866) saw the 
rising sun of the young empire that stretches lo the Rock- 
ies; General Greely, of Arctic fame, and the equally 
scientific explorer. Lieutenant Schwatka, passed their early 
career in the same school, and often followed the trail, 
led by Buffalo Bill; Finerty (formerly of the Chicago 
Times); " Modoc" Fox and O'Kelly (of the New York Her- 
ald')^ 1876; while of late years the scribblers were initiated 
to their baptism of fire by Harries (of Washington Star), 
McDonough (New York World), Bailey (of Inter Ocean), 
brave young Kelly (of the Lincoln Journal), Cressy (of 
the Omaha Bee), Charlie Seymour (Chicago Jlerald), Allen 
(of the New York J/,rald), Robert J. Boylan (of Inter 
Ocean), present in the battle, who were honored by three 
cheers from "Old White Top" Forsyth's gallant Seventh 
Cavalry, the day after the battle of "Wounded Knee," as they 
went charging over Wolf Creek — to what came near being a 
crimson day — to the fight " down at the mission." That there 
are still "successors to every king" is assured by the manly 
scouts so prominent in the last Indian war in such men as 



BUFFALO BILLS " PARDS OF THE PLAINS. 



IGl 



Frank Gruard, now the most celebrated of the present 
employed army scouts; of " Little Bat," true as steel and active 
as the cougar; Philip Wells, Louis Shangrau, " Big Baptiste," 
and John Shangrau; while the friendly Lidians furnish such 




WILD BILL. 

grand material for any future necessity as No Neck, Major 
Sword, Red Shirt, and Yankton Charley. 

"WILD bill" (j. B. HICKOK). 

It is a noticeable coincidence that nearly all of the famous 

frontier characters are natives of the West, and J. B. Hickok, 

better known as Wild Bill, was not an exception to the rule. 
11 



162 BUFFALO BILL. 

Born in La Salle County, Illinois, in 1837, his earliest desire 
was for horses and firearms. At the age of fourteen he had 
become known as a wolf-killer, for at that time the country 
where he lived was overrun by them. 

Acquiring a rudimental education he started out to earn 
his living, and began as a tow-path driver on the Illinois & 
Michigan Canal. 

Longing for fields of adventure he went into Kansas, where 
he soon made a name in the bonier war then going on there. 

It was in Kansas that he was given the name of " Bill," 
though just why no one seems to know; and afterward his 
daring and adventurous career got for him the added cogno- 
men of "Wild liill," a name that he certainly made famous. 

Serving upon the frontier as wagon-boss, pony-rider, stage- 
driver, and then drifting into the position of guide and Gov- 
ernment scout. Wild Bill made a name for himself in each 
occupation he followed. 

It was while serving as train-boss of one of Russell & Majors 
wagon-trains that Wild Bill met and befriended Buffalo Bill, 
then a mere boy; and the friendship thus begun ended oidy 
with the death of Hickok, at Deadwood, at the hands of the 
assassin Jack McCaul. 

A soldier, scout, and spy during tlu,' Civil War, Wild Bill 
returned to scouting at its close, the frontier becoming his 
home. 

Constantly he was thrown in the company of Buffalo Bill, 
and when the latter decided to go upon the stage he determined 
that his companions in the enterprise should be Wild Bill and 
Texas Jack, and they accompanied him lo the East. 

A dead shot, an enemy to fear. Wild bill was as bravo as a 
lion and as tender-hearted as a woman, and he will go down in 
history as a true hero of the border. 



BUFFALO bill's " PARDS " OF THE PLAINS. 



1G3 



" TEXAS JACK " (j. B. OMOHUNDRO). 

Known in his native State, Virginia, as John B. 
Omohundro, the subject of this slcetch won the sobriquet 
of " Texas Jack " after service as a ranger in the Lone Star 
State. 

Reared in a part of Virginia where every man rode a 
iiorse, and born a natural hunter, while his parents were able 




TEXAS JACK. 

to gratify his desire to become a skilled horseman and 
expert shot. Jack Omohundro at an early age became 
noted among his comrades as a fearless rider and a dead 
shot. 

When the Civil War broke out, though but a boy. Jack 
enlisted in the Confederate cavalry, and during the four 



164 BUFFALO BILL. 

years saw much hard service and was a participant in many 
battles. 

Becoming connected with the headquarters of a Texas 
general he was made a scout, and as such rendered valuable 
services to the Confederate army. 

Allied with Texans he went with them to Texas at the 
close of the war, going to the frontier, where he joined a 
company of rangers. 

From ranger, in which capacity he saw much service 
against tiie Indians, he turned to cattle-herding, becoming 
first a cowboy and afterward a rancher. 

Going northward into Kansas in charge of a large herd of 
cattle Texas Jack met, at a frontier post, Buffalo Bill. 

A warm friendship at once sprung up between the two, 
which ended only with the death of the gallant Texan some 
years ago at Leadville, Colo. 

It was through the agency of Buffalo Bill that Texas Jack 
entered the service of the Government as a scout and won 
distinction as such, and also as guide and Indian fighter. 

As a scout he was respected by army ofificers for his 
skill and courage, and he became the warm friend of "White 
Beaver " (Dr. Frank Powell), Maj. Frank North, and Wild 
Bill, joining the latter, with Buffalo Bill, in the theatrical 
enterprise which Buffalo Bill continued until he originated 
the Wild West exhibition. 

UR. D. FRANK POWELL ("WHITE BEAVER"). 

The life of " White Beaver " (Dr. D. Frank Powell) bears all 
the colors and shades of an idyllic romance. His character 
stands out upon the canvas of human eccentricities in striking 
originality, and never finds its counterpart save in stories of 



BUFFALO bill's " PARDS " OF THE PLAINS. 



165 



knight-errantry, when hearts, names, and titles were the prizes 
bestowed for daring deeds evolved from generous sentiments. 
His has been the tenor of uneven ways, with characteristics 
as variable as the gifts in Pandora's box. A born plainsman, 
with the rough, rugged marks of wild and checkered incident, 
and yet a mind that feeds on fancy, builds images of refine- 




DR. D. FRANK POWELL ("WHITE BEAVER.") 

ment, and looks out through the windows of his soul upon 
visions of purity and fields elysian. A reckless adventurer on 
the boundless prairies, and yet in elegant society as amiable 
as a school-girl in the ball-room; evidencing the polish of 
an aristocrat, and a cultured mind that shines with vigorous 
luster where learning displays itself. A friend to be valued 
most in direst extremity, and an enemy with implacable, 



166 BUFFALO BILL. 

insatiable, and revengeful animosities. In short, he is a 
singular combination of oppOsites, and yet the good in him so 
predominates over his passions that no one has more valuable 
friendships and associations than these strange complexities 
attract to him. He is an ideal hero, the image which rises 
before the ecstatic vision of a romancer, and he impresses 
himself upon the millions who know his reputation as a brave 
and chivalrous gentleman. 

A description of White Beaver is not difficult to give, 
because of his striking features; those who see him once are 
so impressed with his bearing that his image is never 
forgotten. He is almost six feel in height, of large frame 
and giant muscular development; a full round face, set off 
by a Grecian nose, a handsome mouth, and black eyes of 
penetrating brilliancy. His hair is long and hangs over his 
shoulders in raven ringlets. In action he is marvelously 
quick, always decisive, and his endurance almost equals that 
of a steam-engine. His appearance is that of a resolute, 
high-toned gentleman, conscious of his power, and yet his 
deference, I may say amiability, attracts every one to him. 
He is, in short, one of the handsomest as well as most 
powerful men among the many great heroes of the plains. 

In addition to his other qualifications peculiarly fitting him 
for a life on the plains, he is an expert pistol and rifle shot; in 
fact, there are perhaps not a half-dozen persons in the United 
States who are his superiors; his precision is not so great now 
as it once was, for the reason that during the past three or four 
years he has had but very little practice; but even now he 
would be regarded an expert among the most skillful. For 
dead-center shooting at stationary objects he never had a 
superior. His eyesight is more acute than an eagle's, which 



BUFFALO hill's " PARDS " OF THE PLAINS. 167 

enables him to distinguish and hit the head of a pin ten paces 
distant, and this shot he can perform now nine times out of 
ten. Any of his office employes will hold a copper cent 
between their fingers and let him shoot it out at ten paces, so 
great is their confidence in his skill; he also shoots through 
finger-rings held in the same manner. One very pretty fancy- 
shot he does is splitting a bullet on a knife-blade; he also 
suspends objects by a hair, and at ten paces cuts the hair, 
which of course he can not see, but shoots by judgment. 
Several persons have told me that they have seen him shoot a 
fish-line in two while it was being dragged swiftly through the 
water. 

White Beaver and Buffalo Bill have been bosom friends 
and fellow-plainsmen since boyhood. History records no 
love between two men greater than that of these two foster- 
brothers. 

MAJ. FRANK J. NORTH. 

This gallant officer was universally recognized as one of 
the best executive leaders and bravest men that ever faced the 
dangers of the plains. 

Although born in the State of New York (March lo, 
1840), he was by virtue of his training a thorough Westerner. 
While still a boy his father moved from New York to near 
Columbus in the State of Nebraska, and very soon thereafter 
was frozen to death at Emigrant Crossing, on Big Papillion 
Creek, while searching for wood for his suffering family. 
After a short connection with McMurra, Glass, and Messenger, 
a party of trappers, he returned to Columbus and turned his 
hand to anything that offered. 

In i860, at the age of twenty years, he procured employ- 
ment with Agent De Puy, at the Pawnee Indian Reservation. 



1G8 BUFFALO BILL. 

While there he studied and became thoroughly proficient in 
the Pawnee language, and in the following year was engaged 
as interpreter by Mr. Rudy, son-in-law of the Indian Com- 
missioner. 

In 1864, when the Sioux war broke out, he was commis- 
sioned by General Curtis to organize the Pawnee Scouts. He 
formed a company of seventy-seven young warriors, and was 
made first lieutenant. To Major North belongs the honor of 
making the first enlistment of Indians for regular Govern- 
ment service. In October following Lieutenant North 
supplemented his first enlistment by another of 100 
Pawnee warriors, who were equipped as regular cavalry, and 
he was promoted to the rank of captain. 

In January, 1865, Captain North, with forty of his Pawnee 
braves, started in pursuit of the Sioux^ who had been commit- 
ting terrible outrages in the neighborhood of Julesburg. 
Death and destruction marked the trail of the Sioux, and 
Captain North arrived at Julesburg just in time to rescue its 
inhabitants. Still pursuing, he caught up with a party of 
twenty-eight of the red devils, and not one of them escaped 
his vengeance. This was a part of Red Cloud's feces, and 
only a few days before they had suddenly attacked Lieu- 
tenant Collins and fourteen men and massacred the entire 
party. 

Shortly after this he became the hero of one of the most 
daring fights ever recorded. During the pursuit of a party of 
twelve Cheyennes, with the intention of punishing them for 
atrocities committed in the neighborhood of Fort Sedgwick, 
his impetuous ardor was so great that it led him far in advance 
of his followers. He suddenly realized that he was at least a 
mile ahead of his men. After bringing down one of the fleeing 



BUFFALO bill's " PARDS " OF THE PLAINS. 109 

Gheyennes he turned to rejoin his command. Seeing him 
alone the Indians started in pursuit, and his liorse having 
been killed he was compelled to continue his retreat on foot. 
After having gone some distance he remembered he had left 
two loaded revolvers in the holsters on his saddle, and not- 
withstanding the danger he boldly returned for them, and 
with them fought the Gheyennes single-handed for nearly half 
an hour longer, until relieved by Lieutenant Small. 

In 1865-66, after the Pawnees were mustered out of serv- 
ice, Gaptain North was appointed post trader at the Pawnee 
Reservation. 

In the March following, under orders from General Auger, 
he raised a battalion of 200 Pawnees, who were equipped for 
cavalry service and taken to Fort Kearney, he being commis- 
sioned a major. This battalion guarded construction trains 
on the Union Pacific Railroad until it reached Ogden. 

Upon the completion of the road Major North retired to a 
ranch on Dismal River, near North Platte, where he went into 
the cattle-raising business. He was then a great sufferer from 
asthma, and had abandoned all hope of relief. 

Buffalo Bill and Major North met for the first time at Fort 
McPherson, and served together in several campaigns. They 
became very warm friends, and afterward partners in the 
cattle business under the firm name of Gody & North. 

Major North, besides being a remarkable Indian fighter 
and a phenomenally brave man, was a thorough gentleman, of 
generous and noble instincts, an honest friend, and popular 
with all classes. His death a few years ago at North Platte 
was deeply and sincerely regretted by the many who had 
known and loved him well. To none did the news cause 
more sincere regret than to his old " pard " and partner, 
Buffalo Bill. 



170 BUFFALO BILL. 

SITTING BULL. 

Though nearly a score of years have gone by since the 
battle of the Litlle Big Horn, where the gallant Custer and 
his brave band were slain, the name of Sitting Bull is recalled 




SITTING BULL. 



by all; and a sigh of relief went up all along the border when 
the news came that the noted chief had started upon the 
trail for the happy hunting-grounds. 



BUFFALO bill's "PARDs" OF THE PLAINS. 171 

Those who condemn the Indian for his red deeds should 
remember that it is his education to be a savage, to kill and 
to burn and pillage; that the greatest slayer of mankind, in 
the opinion of the red men, is the greatest hero. 

Thus, considering that the Indian has his story to tell as 
well as the white man, the mantle of charity should be drawn 
over their deeds. 

Sitting Bull was not a chief in the true sense of the word, 
but was the Moses of his people. 

He had unlimited influence witii his tribe, and among 
other tribes as well; and, a mighty medicine-man, he claimed 
as well to be a prophet. 

The career of Sitting Bull was eventful and remarkable. 

He was a leader and schemer, and when Generals Terry, 
Crook, and Gibbon were sent to capture him he showed great 
generalship in all that he did. 

He checked the advance of General Crook, slaughtered 
Custer, and escaped into Canada, where he and his people 
were safe. 

In 1877 a part of Sitting Bull's tribe surrendered to General 
Miles, who pressed them so hard they could not escape into 
Canada. 

In 1880 others of the tribe surrendered to General Miles 
at Fort Keogh, and later Sitting Bull and others surrendered 
to keep from starving. They were transfei"red to Standing 
Rock Agency. 

Sitting Bull received tempting offers to go East on exhibi- 
tion, but refused all except one from Buffalo Bill — whom he 
knew as a deadly foe in warfare and a good friend in times of 
peace — and so went with some of his people to join the Wild 
West, with which he remained for a year. 



172 BUFFALO BILL. 

The killing of Sitting Bull is still fresh in the minds of 
the people, and his taking off has been condemned by many. 

At the time of his death Buffalo Bill, Surgeon Frank 
Powell, Pony Bob Haslam, and others were on their way to 
his camp to demand his surrender. Had Buffalo Bill not 
been halted by the command of the President and had reached 
Sitting Bull's camp, the great chief would not have been 
slain; and probably Cody's influence would have been strong 
enough to have changed to a more peaceful settlement the 
emeute that culminated in Wounded Knee and Pine Ridge. 

"OKLAHOMA PAYNE " (CAPT. U. L. PAYNE), THE 
CIMARRON SCOUT. 

David L. Payne, known throughout the West as Captain 
Payne, of the Oklahoma Colony Company, was born in Crant 
County, Indiana, December 30, 1836. In 185S, with his 
brother, he started West, intending to engage in the Mormon 
War, but reached there too late. He settled in Doniphan 
County, Texas. His commercial pursuits there not result- 
ing in success he turned hunter, and so became thoroughly 
acquainted with the topography of the great Southwest. 
Afterward a scout, he was often engaged in that capacity 
by the Government and by private expeditions. In this 
way he became accpiainted with Kit Carson, Wild I^iil, 
Buffalo Bill, California Joe, General Custer, and others of 
national reputation. 

During the Civil War he served as a private in the Fourth 
Regiment, which was afterward merged into the Tenth. In 
the fall of 1864 he was elected to the Kansas Legislature. 
Upon its adjournment he again enlisted, and his command 
was detailed for duty at Washington City. His service in 



felJFPALO bill's " PARDS " OF THE PLAINS. 



173 



the volunteer army covered a period of eig-lit years, liis last 
position being captain of Company H, Nineteenth Kansas 
Cavalry, from October, 1868, to October, 1869. During these 
eight years he held the positions of postmaster at Fort 




BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. 

Leavenworth, member of the Legislature, and sergeant-at- 
arms of the Kansas Senate. 

At the close of the war Captain Payne returned to the 
life of the plains, and in the spring of 1868 he accompanied 
General Custer in an expedition against the Cheyenne?, 
during which he, with two others, was detailed as special 
messenger to Fort Hays to secure assistance, and in that 
capacity encountered great dangers and privations. 

In 1870 he removed to Sedgwick County, Kansas, near 
Wichita, and in the following year was again elected to the 




^ 



^ 




%£^/h.lyyf 



BUFFALO bill's " PARDS " OF THE PLAINS. I'l'S 

Legislature. In 1879 he became interested in a movement 
for the occupation and settlement of a district in the'lndian 
Territory which is known as Oklahoma (beautirul land). In 
1880 he organized a colony for the purpose of entering upon 
and settling these lands, but was stopped by a decision of 
Carl Schurz, then Secretary of the Interior, to the effect that 
these lands were open to settlement only to negroes or Indians. 
Owing to the arrest of Captain Payne by tlie United States 
authorities the colony disbanded. 

However historians may differ as to the wisdom or 
legality of Captain Payne's so-called Oklahoma invasion 
and the court's decisions upon the subject, the fact remains 
that his name is held high in honor and esteem by the older 
citizens of the now flourishing Oklahoma — a monument to his 
forethought. 

NATHAN SALSBURY. 

Now to one who if not a " pard " of the plains is a partner 
in the Wild West. 

Mr. Nate Salsbury, the partner of Buffalo Bill in his busi- 
ness enterprise of the AVild West, and his devoted friend, was 
born in Freeport, III., his parents being in humble circum- 
stances. Nate Salsbury began to work for a living at an 
early age, his ambition being to win fame and fortune by 
becoming a self-made man. As there was little to bind his 
affections to the home of his nativity, when the war broke 
out, with all the patriotism of an American stirring in his 
bosom, he enlisted as a private in the Fifteenth Illinois Regi- 
ment, though but a boy in years. His career as a boy soldier 
won for him praise and promotion, and he was wounded in 
battle on three different occasions. 



176 BUFFALO BILL. 

Made a prisoner by the Confederates, he was incarcerated 
in Andersonville prison, where he remained for seven months. 

Being at length exchanged, he returned to his home and 
began the study of law. A few months of ofifice work and 
attendance at school, as well, impressed him with the idea 
that the legal profession would still have a fairly large mem- 
bership, even though his name was not added to the list. 
Abandoning his intention of becoming a lawyer, and while 
attending school he was selected for a part in an amateur theat- 
rical performance. From the time that he made his first bow 
to an audience before tlie footlights as an amateur, he was 
seized with the irresistible desire to become an actor. With 
Nate Salsbury to decide was to act, and going to Grand Rapids, 
Mich., with only a few dollars in his pocket, he received a posi- 
tion which, though humble, gave him a start in professional life. 
After a short season there he went East and secured a position 
in the Boston Museum Company, where his histrionic talent 
was quickly recognized by the management. His success at 
this theater soon attracted to him the attention of managers of 
other cities, and he accepted the position of leading man at 
Hooley's Theater in Chicago. His progress was thenceforth 
ra[)i(i. His popukirity grew apace and his salary was added 
to with every engagement. There was too much originality 
in Nate Salsbury to allow of his remaining a member of a 
stock company, so he conceived and constructed a comedy 
entertainment to which he gave the title of "The Troubadours." 

From the first production of "The Troubadours " the fame 
and fortune of Nate Salsbury were assured. His play of 
" Patchwork" followed, then his most successful comedy, " The 
Brook," which added largely to his riches and his name as 
an actor. 



BUFFALO bill's " PARDS " OF THE PLAINS. 177 

Mr. Salsbury went with his Troubadours in a trip around 
the world, everywhere receiving deserved praise, and he was 
the first dramatic manager who made this hazardous tour 
with his own company. 

The tour took the Troubadours — after going all over the 
United States, playing from Maine to Te.x;as, the Carolinas to 
California — through Australia, India, Scotland, England, Ire- 
land, and Wales, wherever the English tongue was spoken. 

Meeting Buffalo Bill and learning from him his intention 
of giving wild Western exhibitions, Mr. Salsbury became a 
partner in the Wild West, and took the active manage- 
ment of that gigantic aggregation, withdrawing from the 
stage to do so. 

During the tour of Buffalo Bill abroad, at many dinners 
and assemblages Mr. Nate Salsbury 's oratorical powers, 
mimic skill, ready wit, recitative talent, and facility of express- 
ing sentiment delighted all who heard him, and invariably 
made an impression that will long keep his memory green, 
while the reputation of Americans for oratory was well 
sustained by the prairie-born boy soldier. 

As a proof of Mr. Salsbury's nerve under trying circum- 
stances, he was about to go upon the stage at Denver when 
he received a dispatch from his partner, Buffalo Bill, which 
told him that the Wild West steamer on the Mississippi had 
collided with another boat and sunk. Buffalo Bill telegraphed, 
" The whole outfit at the bottom of the Mississippi River. 
What do you advise? " Without an instant's hesitation Nate 
Salsbury wrote on a telegraph blank this answer, " Go to 
New Orleans, reorganize, and open on your date," and this 
Buffalo Bill did. 

Some years ago Mr. Salsbury invested heavily in the cattle 
12 



178 RUFFALO BILL. 

business in Montana, and to-day owns one of the most valua- 
ble ranches in the Northwest. It was during his visit to his 
ranch that he saw the practicability of an exhibition such as 
the Wild West, and readily joined Buffalo Bill in the enter- 
prise. A man of brains, a strict disciplinarian, a genial gen- 
tleman, with genius to originate and ability to accomplish, 
generous and courageous, Nate Salsbury stands to-day unri- 
valed as an executive of great amusement enterprises, and he 
thoroughly deserves the fortune and fame that he has won. 

INDIAN NAMES OF STATES. 

Massachusetts, from the Indian language, signifying the 
" country about the great hills." 

Connecticut was Mohegan, spelled originally " Quon-eh- 
ta-cut," signifying " a long river." 

Alabama comes from an Indian word signifying ''the 
land of rest." 

Mississippi derived its name from that of the great river, 
which is in the Natchez tongue "The Father of Waters." 

Arkansas is derived from the word Kansas, "smoky 
waters," with the French prefix of " ark," a bow. 

Tennessee is an Indian name, meaning " the river with 
a big bend." 

Kentucky is also an Indian name, " Kin-tuk-ae," signifying 
"at the head of the river." 

Ohio is the Slunvnee name for " the beautiful river." 

Michigan's name was derived from the lake, the Indian 
name for fish-weir or trap, which the shape of the lake 
suggested. 

Indiana's name came from that of the Indians. 



BUFFALO bill's "PARDS" OF THE PLAINS. 179 

Illinois' name is derived from the Indian word "Illini" 
(men) and the French affix " ois," making " tribe of men." 

Wisconsin's name is said to be the Indian name for a 
wild, rushing channel. 

Missouri is also an Indian name for " muddy," having 
reference to the muddiness of the Missouri River. 

Kansas is an Indian word for " smoky water." 

Iowa signifies, in the Indian language, "the drowsy 
ones," and Minnesota, "a cloudy water." 




la.Ai-T [ - 'hi Ihh I KAIL 



CHAPTER XX. 

BORDER POETRY. 
BILL CODY. 

You bet I know him, pardner, he ain't no circus fraud, 
He's \Vestern born and Western bred, il he has been late abroad. 
I knew him in the days way back, beyond Missouri's flow. 
When the country round was nothing but a huge Wild Western Show; 
When the Injuns were as thick as fleas, and the man who ventured 

through 
The sandhills of Nebraska had to fight the hostile Sioux. 
These were hot times, I tell you; and we all remember still 
The days when Cody was a scout, and all the men knew Bill. 

I knew him first in Kansas in the days of '68, 
When the Cheyennes and Arapahoes were wiping from the slate 
Old scores against the settlers, and when men who wore the blue, 
With shoulder-straps and way-up rank, were glad to be helped through 
By a bearer of dispatches, who knew each vale and hill 
From Dakota down to Texas, and his other name was Bill. 

I mind me too of 'yg, the time when Cody took 
His scouts upon the Rosebud, along with General Crook; 
When Custer's Seventh rode to their death for lack of some such aid 
To tell them that the sneaking Sioux knew how to ambuscade. 
I saw Bill's fight with Yellow Hand, you bet it was a " mill "; 
He downed him well at thirty yards, and all the men cheered Bill. 

They tell me that the women folk now take his word as laws; 
In them days laws were mighty skerce, and hardly passed with squaws; 
But many a hardy settler's wife and daughter used to rest 
More quietly because they knew of Cody's dauntless breast; 
Because they felt, from Laramie way down to old P'ort Sill, 
Bill Cody was a trusted scout, and all their men knew Bill. 

I haven't seen him much of late; how does he bear his }ears? 
They says he's making ducats now, from shows and not from " steers"; 
He used lo be a judge of " horns," when poured in a tin cup. 
And left the wine to tenderfeet, and men who felt " way up "; 
(181) 



182 BUFFALO BILL. 

Perhaps he cracks a bottle now, perhaps he's had his fill; 

Who cares, Bill Cody was a scout, and all the world knows Bill. 

To see him in his trimmins, he can't hardly look the same, 
With laundered shirt and diamonds, as if " he run a game." 
He didn't wear biled linen then, or flash up diamond rings; 
The royalties he dreamed of then were only pasteboard king^s; 
]!ut those who sat behind the queens were apt to get their fill, 
In the days when Cody was a scout, and all the men knew Bill. 

W^iLLiAM E. Annin, Omaha Bee. 
Washington, D. C, February 28, 1891. 



BUFFALO CHIPS. THE SCOUT. TO BUFFALO BILL. 

[The following verses on the life and death of poor old Buffalo Chips 
are founded entirely on facts. His death occurred on September 8, 1876, 
at Slim Buttes. He was within three feet of me when he fell, uttering the 
words credited to him below. — Capt. Jack Crawkokd, Poet Scout.] 

Theevcnin' sun war settin', droppin' slowly in the west, 

An' the soldiers, tired an' tuckered, in the camp would find that rest 

Which the settin' sun would bring 'em, for they'd marched since break o' day, 

Not a bite to eat 'cept horses as war killed upon the way. 

For ye see our beans an' crackers an' our pork were outen sight, 

An' the boys expected rashuns when they struck our camp that night; 

For a little band had started for to bring some cattle on, 

An' they struck an Indian village, which they captured just at ilawn. 

Wall, I were with that party when we captured them ar' Sioux, 

An' we quickly sent a courier to tell old Crook the news. 

Old Crook! I should say gen'l, cos he war with the boys, 

.Shared his only hardtack, our sorrows, and our joys; 

An' thar is one thing sartin — he never put on style; 

He'd greet the scout or soldier with a social kinder smile. 

An' that's the kind o' soldier as the prairy likes to get, 

An' every man would trump Death's ace for Crook or Miles, you bet. 

But I'm kinder off the racket, cos these gener'ls get enough 
O' praise 'ithout my chippin', so I'll let up on that puff; 
Fer I want to tell a story 'bout a mate of mine as fell, 
Cos I loved the honest fellar, and he did his dooty well. 
Buffalo Chips we call'd him, but his other name war White; 
I'll tell ye how he got that name, an' reckon I am right. 



BORDER POETRY. 183 

You see a lot of big-bugs an' officers came out 

One time to hunt the buffaler an' fisli far speckled trout. 

Wall, little Phil, ye've heerd on him, a dainty little cuss 

As rode his charger twenty miles to stop a little muss; 

Well, Phil he said ter Johnathin, whose other name war White, 

" You go an' find them buffaler, an' see you get 'em right." 

So White he went an' found 'em, an' he found 'em sech a band 

As he sed would set 'em crazy, an' little Phil looked bland; 

But when the outfit halted, one bull was all war there. 

Then Phil he call him " Buffalo Chips," an' swore a little swear. 

Wall, White he kinder liked it, cos the gener'l called him Chips, 

An' he us'ter wear two shooters in a belt above his hips. 

Then he said, " Now, look ye, gener'l, since ye've called me that ar' name, 

Jist around them little sandhills is yer dog-gone pesky game! 

But when the hunt war over, an' the table spread for lunch. 

The gener'l called for glasses, an' wanted his in punch; 

An' when the punch was punished, the gener'l smacked his lips, 

While squar' upon the table sot a dish o' buffalo chips. 

The gener'l looked confounded, an' he also looked for White, 
But Johnathin he reckon'd it war better he should lite. 
So he skinned across the prairy, cos ye see he didn't mind 
A chippin any longer while the gener'l saw the blind; 
Fer the gener'l would a raised him, if he'd jist held up his hand. 
But he thought he wouldn't see him, cos he didn't hev the sand; 
An' he rode as fast — aye, faster — than the gener'l did that day. 
Like lightin' down from Winchester some twenty miles away. 

Wall, White he had no cabin, an' no home to call his own, 
So Buffaler Bill he took him an' shared with him his home. 
An' how he loved Bill Cody! By gosh! it war a sight 
Ter see him watch his shadder an' foller him at night; 
Cos Bill war kinder hated by a cussed gang o' thieves, 
As carried pistols in thar belts, an' bowies in thar sleeves. 
An' Chips he never left him, for fear he'd get a pill; 
Nor would he think it mighty hard to die for Buffalo Bill. 

We us'ter mess together, that ar' Chips an' Bill an' me. 

An' ye oughter watch his movements; it would do ye good ter see 

How he us'ter cook them wittles, an' gather lots o' greens, 

To mix up with the juicy pork an' them unruly beans. 

An' one cold chilly mornin' he bought a lot o' corn. 

An' a little flask o' likker, as cost fifty cents a horn. 



184 BUFFALO KILL. 

Tho' forty ytjn/s war nowhar, it was finished soon, ye bet; 
But, friends, I promised some one, and I'm strong teetotal yet. 



RATTLIN' JOE'S PRAYER. 

(By Capt. Jack Crawford.) 

Jist pile on some more o' them pine knots, 
An' squat yoursel' down on this skin, 
An', Scotty, let up on yer growlin' — 
The boys are all tired o' yer chin. 
Allegheny, jist pass round the bottle, 
An' give the lads all a square drink, 
An' as soon as yer settled I'll tell ye 
A yarn as '11 please ye, I think. 

'Twas eighteen hundred an' sixty, 
A day in the bright month o' June, 
When the angel o' death from the diggin's 
Snatched " Monte Bill" — known as McCune. 
Wal, Bill war a favorite among us, 
In spite o' the trade that he had, 
Which war gamblin'; but — don't you forget it- 
He of'en made weary hearts glad. 
An', pards, while he lay in that coffin. 
Which we hewed from the trunk o' a tree, 
Mis face war as calm as an angel's, 
An' white as an angel's could be. 

An' thar's whar the trouble commenced, pards. 
Thar war no gospel-sharps in the camps. 
An' Joe said, " We can't drop him this way. 
Without some directions or stamps." 
Then up spoke old Sandy McGregor, 
' Look'ce yar, mates, I'm reg'lar dead stuck, 
I can't hold no hand at religion, 
An' I'm 'feared Bill's gone out o' luck. 
If I knowed a darn thing about prayin', 
I'd chip in an' say him a mass; 
But I ain't got no show in the layout, 
I can't beat the game, so I pass." 

Rattlin' Joe war the next o' the speakers, 
An' Joe war a friend o' the dead; 



BORDER POETRY. 185 

The salt water stood in his peepers, 
An' these are the words as he said, 
" Mates, ye know as I ain't any Christian, 
An' I'll gamble the Lord don't know 
That thar lives sich a rooster as I am; 
But thar once war a time long ago 
When I war a kid; I remember. 
My old mother sent me to school, 
To the little brown church every Sunday, 
Whar they said I was dumb as a mule. 
An' I reckon I've nearly forgotten 
Purty much all that I ever knew. 
But still, if ye'll drop to my racket, 
I'll show ye jist what I kin do. 

" Now, I'll show you i)iy bible," said Joseph, 
"Jist hand me them cards off that rack; 

I'll convince that this are a bible," 

An' he went to work shufflin' the pack. 

He spread out the cards on the table, 

An' begun kinder pious-like, " Pards, 

If ye'll jist cheese yer racket an' listen, 

I'll show ye the pra'ar-book in cards. 

" The 'ace '; that reminds us of one God; 
The 'deuce' of the Father an' Son; 
The ' tray ' of the Father, an' Son, Holy Ghost, 
For ye see all them three are but one. 
The 'four-spot' is Matthew, Mark, I>uke, an' John; 
The ' five-spot ' the virgins who trimmed 
Their lamps while yet it was light of the day ; 
And the five foolish virgins who sinned. 
The ' six-spot,' in si.x days the Lord made the world. 
The sea, and the stars in the heaven; 
He saw it war good w'at he made, then he said, 
' I'll jist go the rest on the "seven."' 
The ' eight-spot ' is Noah, his wife, an' three sons. 
An' Noah's three sons had their wives; 
God loved the hull mob, so bid 'em emb-ark — 
In the freshet he saved all their lives. 
The ' nine ' were the lepers of Biblical fame, 
A repulsive and hideous squad. 
The ' ten ' are the holy commandments, which came 



18G BUFFALO BILL. 

To US perishin' creatures from God. 

The ' queen ' war of Sheba in old Bible times, 

The 'king' represents old King Sol. 

She brought in a hundred young folks, gals an' boys. 

To the king in his government hall. 

They were all dressed alike, an' she axed the old boy 

(She'd put up his wisdom as bosh) 

Which war boys an' which gals. Old Sol said, ' l!y Joe, 

How dirty their hands! Make 'em wash! ' 

An' then he showed Sheba the boys only washed 

Their hands and a part o' their wrists. 

While the gals jist went up to their elbows in suds. 

Sheba weakened an' shook the king's fists. 

Now the ' knave,' that's the devil, an' God, if ye please, 

Jist keep his hands off'n poor Bill. 

An' now, lads, jist drop on yer knees for a while 

Till I draw, and perhaps I kin fill; 

An' havin' no Bible, I'll pray on the cards. 

Fur I've showed ye they're all on the squar', 

An' I think God'll cotton to all that I say, 

If I'm only sincere in the pra'r. 

Jist give him a corner, good Lord — not on stocks, 

Fur I ain't such a durned fool as that, 

To a.x ye fur anything worldly fur Bill, 

Kase ye'd put me up then fur a flat. 

I'm lost on the rules o' yer game, but I'll ax 

Fur a seat fur him back o' the throne, 

And I'll bet my hull stack thet the boy'll behave 

If yer angels jist lets him alone. 

Thar's nothin' bad 'bout him unless he gels riled. 

The boys'U all back me in that; 

But if any one treads on his corns, then you bet 

He'll fight at the drop o' the hat. 

Jist don't let yer angels run over him. Lord; 

Nor shut off all to once on his drink; 

Break him in kinder gentle an' mild on the start, 

An' he'll give ye no trouble, I think. 

An' couldn't ye give him a pack of old cards 

To amuse himself once in a while? 

But I warn ye right hyar not to bet on his game, 

Or he'll get right away with yer pile. 

An' now, Lord, I hope liiat ye've tuck it all in, 

An' listened to all thet I've said. 



BORDER POETRY. 18'^ 

I know that my prayin' is just a bit thin, 

But I've done all I kin for the dead. 

An' I hope I hain't troubled yer lordship too much, 

So I'll cheese it by axin' again 

Thet ye won't let the ' knave ' git his grip on poor Bill. 

Thet's all, Lord — yours truly — Amen." 

Thet's Raltlin' Joe's prayer, old pardners, 
An' — what! You all snorin'? Say, Lew — 
By thunder! I've talked every rascal to sleep, 
So I guess I hed best turn in, too. 



BUFFALO BILL AND YELLOW HAND. 

(By Hugh A. Wetmore, Editor People s Press.) 

You may talk 'bout duels requirin' sand, 
But the slickest I've seen in any land 
Was Buffalo Bill's with Yellow Hand. 

Thar wa'n't no seconds to split the pot, 
No noospaper buncombe, none o' the rot 
Your citified, dudefied duels 'as got. 

Custer was not long into his shroud 

When a bunch o' Cheyennes quit Red Cloud 

To j-'in the cranky Sittin' Bull crowd. 

It looked somewhat like a crazy freak, 
But Merritt's cavalry made a sneak 
To head the reds at Big Bonnet Creek. 

Bill an' some soljers was on one side. 

For which Bill was actin' as chief an' guide. 

When he git this call from the copper-hide: 

" I know ye. Long Hair," yells Yellow Hand, 
A-ridin' out from his pesky band 
(A reg'lar bluff o' the Injun brand). 

" You kill heap Injun, I kill heap white; 
My people fear you by day or night; 
Come, single-handed, an' you me fight." 



188 BUFFALO BILL. 

" I'll go ye! " quick as a thunder-clap 
Says Bill, who jest didn't care a rap; 
" Stan' by, an' watch me an' the varmint scrap.' 

They was then 'bout fifty yards apart, 
When without a hitch they made a start 
Straight for each other, straight as a dart. 

The plug which was rid by that Cheyenne 
Was plugged by a slug from Bill's rifle, an' 
Bill's hoss stumbled — now 'twas man to man! 

Or man to devil, 'f you like that best. 

But in them days, in the sure-enough West, 

All stood as equals who stood the test. 

They next at twenty steps blazed away, 
An' had they ben equal both had ben clay. 
But Bill was best, an' he win ther day. 

It's a good shot to hit a Injun's heart. 
Fur obvious reasons. Bill wa'n't scart, 
An' found the center without a chart. 

When they see Bill claim the tommy hawk 
An' feathers an' beads wore by the gawk. 
The other Injuns begin to squawk. 

It all happened so dad-ga'sted quick, 

The opposition must 'a' felt sick; 

But to my taste the duel was monstrous slick. 

The other Injuns made for Bill, 

But the soljers met 'em on the hill, 

An' convinced 'em they had best keep still. 

When Yellow Hand, Senior, beared the news 

He offered ponies 'f Bill W let loose 

Them trophies — but Bill he wa'n't no goose. 

With this remark I'll close my letter; 
" Thar's nought a Injun can do — no matter 
What — but a white man can do it better. " 



CHAPTER XXr. 

FROM PRAIRIE TO PALACE. 

In olden times, when a great leader of an " army with 
banners " was about to depart for a foreign country, bent on 
conquest, great was the outpouring of the people; loud sounded 
the drum and fife, and gay bunting flirted with the joyous 
breeze; salvos of artillery and great shouting rent the air, and 
songs were sung in honor of the mighty host decked in all the 
glittering panoply of war. All this in anticipation of the spoils 
of conquest to be brought back by the victor — human prison- 
ers, coffers of gold, or blood-bought titles to war-won territory. 
How different in spirit, in action, and in expression was the 
assemblage that bade "God speed" to Gen. W. F. Cody on his 
departure as commander of the little heterogeneous army that 
sailed from Columbia's shores. Yet no leader ever started 
on a mission possible of such rich achievement; none ever 
embarked upon a voyage destined to be so thoroughly and 
completely a tour of conquest and of glory. His project 
included neither the shedding of blood, the conquest of ter- 
ritory, nor the enslaving of prisoners. His was the mission of 
peace; the awakening of the Old World to the contemplation 
of fresh truths in the picturesque history of the New. Colum- 
bus had told old Spain of the savages that greeted him on his 
landing upon the shores of tlie New World; the Pilgrim 
Fathers had sent messages of their terrible struggles with their 
bitter Indian foes; but General Cody took with him great 
chieftains who called him friend. As evidences and tradi- 

(189) 



FROM PRAIRIE TO PALACE. 191 

tions of the past, and for the delectation of peasant and prince 
"across the water," they danced their war-dance and sounded 
their war-whoop. But to the thoughtful it must have been a 
grander sio;ht to see them, in the hours not devoted to duty, 
grouped in friendly conclave around the man who, appearing 
first among them as a foe, they had learned at last to understand 
and appreciate as their friend indeed. What a lesson to power, 
what an exemplification of the true spirit that moved the 
founders of the great American Republic! No compulsion 
was used by this hero of the plains to enforce the attendance 
of these bronzed warriors on his journeys; but trusting to his 
word alone as the guerdon of their safety, they willingly, 
gladly, went into a far country among scenes and people 
strangely new to them. 

How appropriate that such an army, under such a leader, 
and on such a peaceful and glorious invasion, should carry into 
and plant in sturdy England, sunny France, historic Spain, 
mighty Germany, and poetic Italy the flag that proclaims to 
all the world that " all men are, and by right ought to be, free 
and equal." 

Before following the Wild West of America in a mimic 
display across the seas into foreign lands, it may be well to 
here consider something that this wonderful man among men 
has done in the way of educating our own and other i:)eople 
into knowing what the Indian really is. 

Glancing now over the history of the Indians, we recall 
how cruel has been their mode of warfare, and massacres 
innumerable rise up before us, from the red scene in the 
Wyoming Valley to the death of the gallant Custer and his 
brave 300 boys in blue. 

Yet, reared upon the frontier, amid scenes of courage, and 



192 BUFFALO BILL. 

learning from actual experience all the redskin could become 
as a foe, Buffalo Bill yet accorded to them the rights that 
others would not allow. 

If fighting them, he yet would befriend them in time of 
need and was never merciless to them in defeat. 

Winning fame as scout, guide, and Indian fighter, Buffalo 
Bill was seized upon as a hero for the pen of the novelisl, 
and volumes have been written founded upon his deeds of 
daring. 

Then, like a meteor, he flashed upon the people of the 
East, impersonating upon the stage none other than himself, 
living over before the footlights his own life. 

Men who have criticised Buffalo Bill as an actor forget 
wholly that he is the only man who x-^ playiiii^ Idmself. 

He plays his part as he knows it, as he has acted it upon 
many a field, acting naturally and without bombast and forced 
tragic effect. 

Be the motive what it may, love of lucre or the gratifica- 
tion of pride, the fact still remains that in his delineation of 
border life Buffalo Bill educated the people to seeing the 
hated and ever-dreaded red men in another light. 

He was their friend in peace, not their foe always because 
once upon their trail; and he brought the red man before the 
public in a way never witnessed before. 

Buffalo Bill never was a man-killer, and there was nothing 
of bravado in his nature and not a tinge of the desperatlo. 

Brought face to face with the stern reality that either his 
foe or himself must die, when it was in the discharge of duty 
or self-defense William Cody never (luailed in the face of 
death, and acted, as his conscience dictated, for the right. 

But his stage experience gave William Cody the thought 



FROM PRAIRIE TO PALACE. 193 

of producing border life upon a grander scale than could be 
done within the walls of a theater, and from this sprang the 
Wild West exhibitions that have delighted the world. 

Conceiving the idea of presenting border life as it was 
before vast audiences, he at once carried the thought into 
execution, and Buffalo Bill's Wild West became the center 
of attraction wherever it appeared. 

After several times swinging around the circle in this 
country, the Wild West crossed the ocean in a steamship 
chartered to carry the vast aggregation, and landed upon the 
shores of England. 

Behold the result! Opening in London before vast 
audiences, the queen, the Prince of Wales, and other royal 
personages of high rank flocked to see the man and those he 
had brought with him into the very heart of the English 
metropolis. 

There, upon the soil of the mother country, before 
tens of thousands of Britishers, the Wild West held sway for 
months, while the hero of the plains, the prairie boy, found 
himself honored by royalty, a welcome visitor across the 
threshold of palaces, feted by men whose names were known 
the wide world over. 

Bearing the stars and stripes in his hand, mounted upon 
his finest charger, Buffalo Bill saluted the queen, who rose, 
and bowed in salutation to the American flag, borne by so fit 
a representative of his country. 

Nor did the triumphal march of the Wild West end here, for 
Buffalo Bill sought other lands to conquer, and bore the stars 
and stripes into France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bel- 
gium, and elsewhere, presenting the American flag before more 
peoples than it had ever been seen by during its existence of 
a century. 

13 



194 BUFFALO BILL. 

Traveling through Europe with three railway trains of 
seventy-five cars, carrying over three hundred people, with 
the horses of our plains, the buffaloes, and wild steers, the Wild 
West was the observed of all observers, and crowned heads 
everywhere gave Buffalo Bill, his cowboys, and Indians a wel- 
come, even his holiness the pope granting them an audience. 

Living in their own camp, eating American food, the people 
of the Wild West did much to educate foreigners into a taste 
for American hams, corn-meal, and other luxuries; and it was 
through the sending of so much corn to Cody's commissary 
that Colonel Murphy of the Department of Agriculture won 
the name of "Corn-meal Murphy." 

From this explanatory sketch the reader can readily .see 
how it was that Buffalo Bill went from the prairie to the 
palace. 

For the benefit of those of my readers who are interested 
in the study of physiognomy, 1 submit the following physiog- 
nomical study of Colonel Cody by Prof. A. J. Op[ienheim, 
B. P. A., of London: 

"The length from the opening of the ear to the outer 
corner of the eye shows great intellectual cajiacity ami (juick- 
ness of comprehension. The forehead is broad, square, and 
practical. The deep setting of the eyes in their sockets 
denotes great shrewdness and keenness of perception, 'i'he 
fullness under the eye means eloquence and the faculty of 
verbal expression. The downward projection of the outer 
corner of the eyebrows means contest — he never gives in. 
The unevenness of the hair of the eyebrows shows hastiness 
of temper and irritability when under restraint, but the 
straightness of the eyebrows themselves denotes truthfulness 
and sincerity. The height of the facial bone generally 



FROM PRAIRIE TO PALACE. 195 

indicates great intensity and strong powers of physical endur- 
ance. The ridge in the center of the nose means relative 
defense, protection, quixotism, taking up other people's 
cudgels and fighting their battles for them. The thinness of 
the bridge of the nose denotes generosity and love of spend- 
ing money. Colonel Cody might make many fortunes, but he 
would never succeed in amassing one. The length of the 
nostrils shows activity; the manner in which they dilate and 
curl, pride; and their size denotes courage and fearlessness. 
The transparency of the eyelids and the fineness of the eye- 
lashes is indicative of a keenly sensitive, sympathetic, and 
benevolent nature. Though a large-sized man, and a great 
warrior, his heart is as tender as a woman's. The angle of 
the jaw denotes determination and strength of purpose, but 
the narrowness of the lower part of the face suggests a com- 
plete absence of coarseness or brutality. The length of the 
throat shows a marvelous independence of spirit and love 
of fresh air and exercise. The wavy lines in the forehead 
mean hope and enthusiasm; the two perpendicular ones 
between the eyes, love of equity and justice." 

To-day Buffalo Bill stands as a typical plainsman, the last 
of a race of "men whose like will never be seen again. 

The trackless wilderness, the arid deserts, mountains, and 
plains are to-day as an open book through the work of just 
such pioneers of the star of empire as is Buffalo Bill. 

They have solved the mysteries of the unknown land of 
the setting sun as it was half a century ago, and then sprang 
into existence as educators, and having done their work well 
are awaiting the last call to that great terra incognita beyond 
the river of death. 



100 BUFFALO RILT-. 

Their like will never be seen again on this earth, for there 
are no new lands to explore. 

As Columbus was the pilot across the seas to discover a 
new world, such heroes as Eoone, Fremont, Crockett, Kit 
Carson, and last, but by no means least, Cody, were the 
guides to the New World of the mighty West, and their 
names will go down in history as 

" Among the few, the immortal names 
That were not born to die." 



CHAPTER XXIT. 

THE WILD WEST AT SEA. 

The Wild West visited many of tlie principal cities of this 
country, played a winter season in New Orleans, a summer 
season at Staten Island, and the winter of 18S6-87 in Madison 
Square Garden in New York. But with the immortal bard 
who wrote "ambition grows with what it feeds on," Colonel 
Cody and Mr. Salsbury had an ambition to conquer other 
nations. The importance of the undertaking was fully real- 
ized, but nothing daunted by all that would have to be under- 
gone to reach a foreign land and give exhibitions, the owners 
of the Wild West boldly made the venture. 

The writer went abroad and arranged to play a season of 
six months in London, as an adjunct of the American exhibi- 
tion. All arrangements being made, the Indians were secured, 
the representative types of the Sioux, Cheyennes, Kiowas, 
Pawnees, and Ogalallas, and a number of prominent chiefs. 

Having collected a company of more than two hundred 
men and animals, consisting of Indians, cowboys, Mexican 
riders, rifle-shots, buffaloes, Texas steers, burros, broncos, 
racing-horses, elk, bear, and an immense amount of parapher- 
nalia such as tents, wagons, stage-coach, arms, ammunition, 
costumes, and alt equipage necessary, the steamship City 
of Nebraska, Captain Braes, was chartered. The City of 
Nebraska, loaded with the Wild West, set sail from New 
York, Thursday, March 31, 18S7. The piers were crowded 
with thousands of good friends who went down to wave 

(197) 



198 BUFFALO BILL. 

adieux and to wish the Wild West a pleasant voyage and 
success. 

As the steamship City of Nebraska pulled out of the 
dock the cowboy band played " The Girl I Left Behind Me " 
in a manner that suggested more reality than empty senti- 
ment in the familiar air. Before starting on the trip a 
number of the Indians had expressed grave fears about 
trusting themselves upon the mighty ocean, fearing that a 
dreadful death would soon overtake them, and it required 
much persuasion at the last moment to induce them to go on 
board. 

Red Shirt explained tiiat these fears were caused by a 
superstitious belief that if a red man attempted to cross the 
ocean he would be seized of a malady that would first pros- 
trate the victim and then slowly consume his flesh, until at 
length the very skin itself would drop from his bones, leaving 
nothing but the skeleton, and this even would never find 
burial. This weird belief was repeated by the chiefs of 
several tribes to the Indians who had joined the Wild West, 
so there was little reason for wonder that the poor children of 
the forest should hesitate to submit themselves to such an 
experiment. On the day following the departure from New 
York the Indians began to grow weary, and becoming sea- 
sick they were both treacherous and rebellious. Their fears 
were greatly intensified as even Red Shirt, the bravest of his 
people, looked anxiously toward the hereafter, and began to 
feel his flesh to see if it was really diminishing. The hope- 
lessness stamped upon the faces of the Indians was 
pitiful to behold, and but for the endeavors of Buffalo Bill 
to cheer them up and relieve their forebodings there is no 
knowing what might have happened. But for two days the 



THE WILD WEST AT SEA. 199 

whole company, Indians, cowboys, and all, did little other 
active service than to feed the fishes. 

On the third day all began to grow better, and the Indians 
were called into the salon and given a sermon by Buffalo 
Bill; Red Shirt also, having lost his anxiety, joining in the 
oratory. 

After the seasickness was over, Mr. Salsbury, as singer and 
comedian, took an active part in amusing all on board. The 
seventh day of the voyage a fierce storm swept over the sea, 
and the ship was forced to lay to, and during its continuance 
the stock suffered greatly; but only one horse died on the 
trip. At last the steamship cast anchor off Gravesend, and a 
tug-boat loaded with custom-house and quarantine ofificers 
boarded to make the usual inspection. The English govern- 
ment, through its officials, extended every courtesy. A 
special permit was given for the animals to land, and the 
people started for the camp. 

The arrival of the City of Nebraska had been watched 
for with great curiosity, as a number of yachts, tug-boats, 
and other craft surrounding it testified. A tug was soon 
seen flying the Stars and Stripes, and as it came nearer the 
strains of " The Star Spangled Banner," rendered by the band 
on her deck, floated across the water. As the welcome strains 
ended, the cowboy band on the Nebraska responded with 
"Yankee Doodle." When the tug came alongside, the com- 
pany on board proved to be the directors of the American 
exhibition in London, with Lord Ronald Gower heading a 
distinguished committee and representatives of the leading 
journals of England. 

As Buffalo Bill landed with the committee three cheers 
were given, and cries rang out of " Welcome to old England," 



200 BUFFALO BILL. 

giving pleasing evidence of the public interest that had been 
awakened through the coming of the Wild West. A special 
train with saloon carriages was waiting to convej- the parly to 
London, and leaving behind them the old Kentish town, in an 
hour after they arrived at Victoria Station. 

Entering the headquarters of the exhibition Buffalo Bill 
and those who accompanied him found a bounteous repast 
set, and a generous welcome was accorded them. After brief 
social converse a visit was made to the grounds, where 
hundreds of busy workmen were hastening the completion 
of the arena, the grand-stand, and stabling for the cattle. 
When it is taken into consideration that these operations were 
dealing with an expenditure of over one hundred and thirty 
thousand dollars, the greatness of the enterprise can be under- 
stood. An arena of more than a third of a mile in circumfer- 
ence, flanked by a grand-stand filled with seats and boxes to 
accommodate 20,000 persons, sheltered stands for 10,000 more, 
the standing-room being 10,000, will give an idea of the size 
of the Wild West exhibition grounds. 

The interest evinced by the British workmen in the com- 
ing of the Wild West people was as a straw indicating which 
way the wind blew, or intended to blow. On the following 
morning, when the tide was at its flood, the City of Nebraska 
steamed up the river, the trip being a pleasure to all on board. 
With the assistance of the horsemen, each looking after his 
own horse, the unloading was begun and carried on with a 
rapidity that astonished even the old dock-hands and officials. 
Through the courtesy of the custom-house people there was 
hardly a moment's delay in the debarkation; but although 
landing in London, the Wild West was still twelve miles away 
from its city camp. Loading the entire outfit on two trains, 



THE WILD WEST AT SEA. 201 

it was speedily delivered at the Midland Railway Depot adjoin- 
ing the grounds, and by 4 o'clock on the same afternoon the 
horses and other animals had been stabled, watered, and fed, 
and the camp equipage and bedding distributed. The camp 
cooks were preparing the evening meal, tents were going up, 
stoves being erected, tables spread and set in the open air, 
tepees erected, and by 6 o'clock a perfect canvas city had 
sprung up in the heart of West End London. 

Upon the flag-staff the starry banner had been run up and 
was floating in the breeze, and the cowboy band rendering 
the national airs of America, amid the shouts and cheers of 
thousands who lined the walls, streets, and housetops of the 
surrounding neighborhood. This was most gratifying to the 
new-comers, and in answer to the hearty plaudits of the 
English, Colonel Cody ordered the band to play "God ScWe 
the Queen," and the Wild West was at home in London. 

The first camp meal being necessarily eaten in full view of 
the crowd, the dining-tents not being ready, was a novel sight 
to them, from the motley population of Indians, cowboys, 
scouts, Mexicans, etc. The meal was finished by 7 o'clock, 
and by 9 o'clock the little camp was complete, and its tired 
occupants, men, women, and children, were reposing more 
snugly, safely, and peacefully than they had done in many 
weeks. 

Trivial as these details may appear at first sight, the rapid- 
ity with which the Wild West had transported its materials from 
dock to depot, and depot to ground, had an immense effect 
upon the people of London. A number of notable visitors 
present, especially the representatives of the press, expressed 
great astonishment at the enterprise of the Americans, and 
communicated that feeling throughout London. 



202 nUFFAI,0 BILL. 

"The Yankees mean business" was the expression heard 
upon all sides. As the Wild West was not to open its exhibi- 
tion for several days after its arrival, Colonel Cody and Mr. 
Salsbury had an opportunity of meeting many distinguished 
persons in England, who called upon them, and who afterward 
proved most friendly and hospitable. Among these promi- 
nent persons was Mr. Henry Irving, who had witnessed the 
Wild West performance at Staten Island, and paved the way 
in a great measure for its success in London by speaking in 
the kindest terms to a representative of the great dramatic 
organ, TJic Era. It may not be amiss to here quote his 
remarks. Mr. Irving said in Tlie Era: 

" I saw an entertainment in New York, the like of which 1 
had never seen before, which impressed me immensely. It is 
coming to London. It is an entertainment in which the whole 
of the most interesting episodes of life on the extreme fron- 
tier of civilization in America are represented with the most 
graphic vividness and scrupulous detail. You have real cow- 
boys with bucking horses, real buffaloes, and great hordes of 
.steers, which are lassoed and stampeded in the most realistic 
fashion imaginable. Then there are real Indians, who exe- 
cute attacks upon coaches driven at full speed. No one can 
exaggerate the extreme excitement and 'go' of the whole 
performance. It is simply immense, and I venture to predict 
that when it comes to London it will take the town by storm." 

Among other early callers upon the Wild West, and who 
gave their inlluence and frientlly aid in London, were genial 
John L. Toole, Miss Ellen Terry, Mr. Justin McCarthy, 
United States Minister Phelps, Consul-General Gov. Thomas 
Waller, Deputy Consul Moffat, Mr. Henry Labouchere, M. P., 
Miss Mary Anderson, Mrs. Brown-Potter, Mr. Charles Wynd- 



THE WILD WEST AT SEA. 203 

ham, Lord Ronald Gower, Sir Cundiffe Owen, Lord Henry 
Paget, Lord Charles Beresford, the Grand Duke Michael of 
Russia, Lady Monckton, Sir Francis Knollys, private secre- 
tary to the Prince of Wales; Colonel Clarke, Colonel Monta- 
gue, Lady Alice Beckie (whom the Lidians afterward named 
the "Sunshine of the Camp"), Lord Strathmore, Lord Wind- 
sor, Lady Randolph Churchill, Mrs. John W. Mackay, and a 
host of distinguished American residents in London, who also 
visited the camp before the regular opening of the Wild West, 
and by their expressions of friendship gave encouragement 
for success in the future. 

The sight of the Lidians, cowboys, American girls, and 
Mexicans, with Buffalo Bill as chief, was most attractive to 
Londoners, while the English love of horsemanship, feats of 
skill, and fondness for sports presaged an appreciative com- 
munity. The press was also most generous, the columns of 
the papers teeming daily with information so eulogistic that 
the Wild Westerners were afraid they would never be able to 
come up to expectations. 

Fifty large scrap-books, filled to repletion with press 
notices, now form a conspicuous part of Colonel Cody's 
library at Scout's-Rest Ranch. The London Illustiatt'd A'^cws, 
in connection with two pages of illustration, is drawn upon 
for the following extract: 

"It is certainly a novel idea for one nation to give an 
exhibition devoted exclusively to its own frontier history, or 
the story enacted by genuine characters of the dangers and 
hardships of its settlement, upon the soil of another country 
3,000 miles away. Yet this is exactly what the Americans 
will do this year in London, and it is an idea worthy of that 
thorough-going and enterprising people. We frankly and 



204 BUFFALO BILL. 

gladly allow that there is a natural and sentimental view of 
the design which will go far to obtain for it a hearty welcome 
in England. The progress of the United States, now the 
largest community of the English race on the face of the 
earth, though not in political union with Great Britain, yet 
intimately connected with us by social sympathies; by a 
common language and literature; by ancestral traditions and 
many centuries of common history; by much remaining 
similarity of civil institutions, laws, morals, and manners; by 
the same forms of religions; by the same attachments to the 
]-)rinciples of order and freedom, and by the mutual inter- 
change of benefits in a vast commerce, and in the materials 
and sustenance of their staple industries, is a proper subject 
of congratulation; for the popular mind in the United King- 
dom does not regard, and will never be taught to regard, 
what are styled ' imperial 'interests — those of mere political 
dommion — as equally valuable with the habits and ideas and 
domestic life of the aggregate of human families belonging 
to our own race. The greater numerical proportion of these, 
already exceeding sixty millions, are inhabitants of the great 
American Republic, while the English-speaking subjects of 
Queen Victoria number a little above forty-five millions, 
including those in Canada and Australasia and scattered 
ani(jng the colonial dependencies of this realm. It would be 
unnatural to deny ourselves the indulgence of a just gratifica- 
tion in seeing what men of our own blood, men of our own 
mind and disposition in all essential respects, though 
tempered and sharpened by more stimulating conditions, 
with some wider opportunities for exertion, have achieved in 
raising a wonderful fabric of modern civilization, and bringing 
it to the highest prosperity, across the whole breadth of the 



THE WILD WEST AT SEA. 205 

Western Continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. 
We feel sure that this sentiment will prevail in the hearts of 
hundreds of thousands of visitors to Buffalo Bill's American 
camp, about to be opened at the west end of London; and 
we take it kindly of the great kindred people of the United 
States that they now send such a magnificent representation 
to the motherland, determined to take some part in celebrat- 
ing the jubilee of her majesty the queen, who is the 
political representative of the people of Great Britain and 
Ireland." 

The tone of this article strikes the same chord as the 
whole of the comments of the English press. It divested 
the Wild West of its attributes as an entertainment simply, 
and treated the visit as an event of first-class international 
importance, and a link between the affections of the two 
kindred nations such as had never before been forged. 




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FVinee of iHales. Kinj of Sweden Gen'l Lord ttfolseley. 

EUROPEAN CELEBRITIES VIblTORS AT THE WILD WEST, LONDON. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

A ROYAL WELCOME. 

While in the midst of extensive preparations for their 
opening, the proprietors of the Wild West received an inti- 
mation that the ex-premier, the Rt. Hon. W. E. Glad- 
stone, M. P., proposed honoring them with a preliminary 
call. The date fixed for the visit was the 25th of April, and 
shortly after i o'clock p. m. on that day the distinguished 
visitor arrived at Earl's Court with Mrs. Gladstone, and 
accompanied by the Marquis of Lome (husband of the 
Princess Louise), attended by Lord Ronald Govver and Mr. 
Waller (Consul-General of the United States), escorted by 
Nate Salsbury. 

The cowboy band welcomed the visitors with the strains 
of "Yankee Doodle," and they were presently introduced to 
Colonel Cody, who in turn presented to them the denizens 
of the encampment. The Grand Old Man was soon 
engaged in conversation with Red Shirt, to whom Colonel 
Cody had explained that Mr. Gladstone was one of the great 
white chiefs of England. Red Shirt was much puzzled by 
Mr. Gladstone's inquiring, through an interpreter, if he 
thought the Englishman looked enough like the American 
for him to believe that they were kinsmen and brothers. Red 
Shirt created quite a laugh by replying that " he wasn't quite 
sure about that." It would be hard to picture the astonish- 
ment of the visitors when the Indians, in full war-paint, 
riding their swift horses, dashed inlo the arena from an 

(207) 



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A REDSKIN VILLAGE IN A PALEFACE CITY LONDON 



A ROYAL WELCOME. 209 

ambuscade, and the enthusiasm grew immense when Colonel 
Cody placed himself at the head of the whole body and 
wheeled them into line for a general salute. It was a real 
treat to see the ex-premier enjoying himself like a veritable 
school-boy when the lasso, the feats of shooting, and the 
bucking-horses were introduced; and when the American 
cowboys tackled the incorrigible bucking-horses he sometimes 
cheered the animal and sometimes the man. At the conclu- 
sion of the exhibition Mr. Gladstone expressed himself as 
having been greatly entertained and interested, and spoke in 
warm and affecting terms of the instrumental good work the 
Wild West had come to do. In a brilliant little speech he 
proposed "success to the Wild West Show," which aroused 
the enthusiasm of all present. His demeanor on this and 
other occasions when he met the Americans made clear to 
them the reason of the fascination he exercises over the 
masses of his countrymen. 

Then for Colonel Cody commenced a long series of invi- 
tations to breakfasts, dinners, luncheons, midnight layouts, 
and other attentions by which London society delights to 
honor a distinguished foreigner. In addition to many recep- 
tions tendered him, he was made an honorary member of 
most of the best clubs, notably the Reform Club, where he 
was presented to the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cam- 
bridge, and many prominent gentlemen. He was afterward 
a guest at a civic lunch at the Mansion House, with the Lord 
Mayor and Lady Mayoress; a dinner at the Beaufort Club, 
where that fine sportsman the Duke of Beaufort occupied the 
chair; and a memorable evening at the Savage Club, with Mr. 
Wilson Barrett (who had just returned from America) presiding, 
and an attendance comprising such great spirits as Mr. Henry 

14 



210 BUFFALO BILL. 

Irving, John L. Toole, and others great in literary, artistic, 
and histrionic London. At the United Arts Club lie was 
entertained by the Duke of Teck, and at the St. George's 
Club by Lord Bruce, Lord Woolmer, Lord Lymington, Mr. 
Christopher Sykes, Mr. Herbert Gladstone, and others. Sub- 
sequently he dined at Mr. Irving's, Lady McGregor's, Lady 
Tenterden's, Mrs. Charles Matthews' (widow of the great 
actor), Mrs. J. ^V. Mackay's, Lord Randolph and Lady 
Churchill's, Edmund Yates', and at Great Marlow. These are 
but a very few of the many invitations he was called upon to 
accept during this visit. When Mr. and Mrs. Labouchere 
gave their grand garden production of " A Midsummer 
Night's Dream" Colonel Cody was an honored guest. He 
also accompanied Lord Charles Beresford in the Coaching 
Club Parade in Hyde Park, and was prevented by press of 
business from accepting an invitation to a mount with the 
Honorable Artillery Company of London (the oldest volun- 
teer in the kingdom), in the parade in honor of her majesty 
the queen's birthday. 

Considering the fact that the Indians were all new from the 
Pine Ridge Agency and had never seen the exhibition, and 
that loo of the ponies came direct from the plains of Texas 
and had never been ridden or shot over, it is a wonder how 
Colonel Cody, with these social demands made upon his time, 
succeeded in forming so good an exhibition on the opening day. 

During all this fashionable luirly-burly Colonel Cody 
received the following letter: 

Marlborough House, 
Pall Mall, S. W., April 26, 1887. 
Df.ar Sir: 1 am desired by the Prince of Wales to 
thank you for your invitation. His royal highness is 



A ROYAT. WELCOME 311 

anxious I should see you with reference (o it. Perhaps, 
therefore, you would kindly make it convenient to call at 
Marlborough House. 

Would it suit you to call at 11.30 or 5 o'clock either 
to morrow (Wednesday) or Thursday? I am, dear sir, 
Yours faithfully, 

(Signed) Francis Knollys, 

Private Secretary. 

This resulted in an arrangement to give a special and 
exclusive performance for H. R. H. the Prince and Princess 
of Wales, although everything was still incomplete, the track 
unfinished, and spoiled by rainy weather and the hauling on 
of vast timbers. The ground was in unspeakably bad condi- 
tion. The Prince of Wales being busily occupied in arrang- 
ing matters for the queen's jubilee had but limited latitude 
in regard to time, so postponement was out of the question. 
The royal box was handsomely rigged out with American and 
English flags, and the party conducted into the precincts of the 
Wild West was a strong one numerically as well as in point of 
exalted rank: ThePrinceandPrincessof Wales, with their three 
daughters. Princesses Louise, Victoria, and Maud, led the way; 
then came the Princess Louise and her husband, the Marquis 
of Lome; the Duke of Cambridge; H. S. H. of Teck and his 
son; the Comtesse de Paris; the Crown Prince of Denmark; 
followed by Lady Sufifield and Miss Knollys, Lady Cole, 
Colonel Clarke, Lord Edward Somerset, and other high-placed 
attendants on the assembled royalties. 

Colonel Cody was introduced by the Prince of Wales to 
the princess, and introductions to the other exalted person- 
ages followed, in which Nate Salsbury and the writer were 
included. This was one of many meetings between his royal 
highness and Colonel Cody, and before leaving London the 



212 BUFFALO BILL. 

prince presented to the colonel a very handsome diamond 
copy of his crest — the three ostrich feathers mounted in gems 
and gold — as a breastpin. 

When the prince gave the signal the Indians, yelling like 
fiends, galloped out from their ambuscade and swept round 
the inclosure like a whirlwind. The effect was instantaneous 
and electric. The prince rose from his seat and leaned 
eagerly over the front of the bo.x, and the whole party seemed 
thrilled at the spectacle. From that moment everything was 
all right; everybody was in capital form and the whole thing 
went off grandly. At the finish an amusing incident occurred. 
Our lady shots, on being presented, cordially offered to shake 
hands with tiie princess. Be it known that feminine royally 
offers the left hand, back uppermost, which the person pre- 
sented is expected to reverently lift with the finger-tips and 
to salute with the lips. However, the princess got over the 
difficulty by taking their proffered hands and shaking them 
heartily. 

Then followed an inspection of the Indian camp and a talk 
between the prince and Red Shirt. His royal highness 
expressed through the interpreter his great delight at what he 
had seen, and the princess personally offered him a welcome 
to England. " Tell the great chief's wife," said Red Shirt 
with much dignity, "that it gladdens my heart to hear her 
words of welcome." While the ladies of the suite were 
petting John Nelson's half-breed papoose, the prince visited 
Colonel Cody's lent and while there seemed much interested 
in the gold-mounted sword presented to Colonel Cody by the 
generals of the United States Army. Despite the muddy 
state of the ground, the prince and his party made an inspec- 
tion of the stables, where 200 bronco horses and other animals 




li 





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PniiceSj Louise HRN Prineess M^ry AdelaidE- , D'^cen of the Beljians ; 

ROYAL, VISITORS TO THg WIUD WEST, LONDON. 



214 BUFFALO BILL. 

were quartered. He parLicularly gratified Colonel Cody by 
demanding a full, true, and particular history of Old Charlie — 
then in his twenty-first year — who had carried his owner 
through so much arduous work on the plains and who once 
bore him over a flight of loo miles in nine hours and forty 
minutes when chased by hostile Indians. 

At 7 o'clock the royal visit, and our first full performance 
in England, terminated by the prince presenting the contents 
of his cigarette-case to Red Shirt. 

A walk around the principal streets of London at this 
time would have shcnvn how, by anticipation, the Wild West 
had "caught on " to the popular imagination. The windows 
of the London bookseller were full of editions of Fenimore 
Cooper's novels, "The Pathfinder," "The Deerslayer," "The 
Last of the Mohicans," " Leather Stocking," and, in short, 
alt that series of delightful romances which have placed 
the name of the American novelist on the same level with 
that of Sir Walter Scott. It was a real revival of trade for 
the booksellers, who sold thousands of volumes of Cooper, 
where twenty years before they had sold them in dozens, 
while Colonel Prentiss Ingraham's realistic "Border Ro- 
mances of Buffalo Bill " had a tremendous sale. There 
is "no doubt that the visit of the Wild West to England set 
the population of the British Islands to reading, thinking, 
and talking about their American kinsmen to an extent there- 
tofore unknown. It taught them to know more of the mighty 
nation beyond the Atlantic, and consequently to esteem it 
better than at any time within the limits of modern history. 

The Wild West having made its debut in London, the fol- 
lowing comment of the Times and letters from General 
Sherman will be appreciated by the reader: 



A ROYAL WELCOME. 215 

AMERICAN WILD WKST liXHlBlTlON. 

The American exhibition, which has attracted all the town 
to West Brompton for the last few months, was brought yes- 
terday to an ai)propriate and dignified close. A meeting of 
representative Englishmen and Americans was held, under the 
presidency of Lord Lome, in support of the movement for 
establishing a Court of Arbitration for the settlement of dis- 
putes between this country and the United States. At first 
sight it might seem to be a far cry from the Wild West to an 
International Court. Yet the connection is not really very 
remote. Exhibitions of American products and sceVies from 
the wilder phases of American life certainly tend, in some 
degree at least, to bring America nearer to England. They 
are partly cause and partly effect. They are the effect of 
increased and increasing intercourse between the two coun- 
tries, and they tend to promote a siill more intimate under- 
standing. Those who went to be amused often stayed to be 
instructed. The Wild West was irresistible. Colonel Cody 
suddenly found himself the hero of the London season. 
Notwithstanding his daily engagements and his punctual ful- 
fillment of them, he found time to go everywhere, to see 
everything, and to be seen by all the world. All London 
contributed to his triumph, and now the close of his show is 
selected as the occasion for promoting a great international 
movement, with Mr. Bright, Lord Granville, Lord Wolseley, 
and Lord Lome for its sponsors. Civilization itself consents 
to march onward in the train of "Buffalo Bill." Colonel 
Cody can achieve no greater triumph than this, even if he 
some day realizes the design attributed to him of running the 
Wild West show within the classic precincts of the Coliseum 
at Rome. 

This association of the cause of international arbitration 
with the fortunes of the American Wild West is not without 
its grotesque aspects. But it has a serious import, neverthe- 
less. After all, the Americans and the English are one stock. 
Nothing that is American comes altogether amiss to an Eng- 



216 BUFFALO RILL. 

lishman. We are apt to think that American life is not pictur- 
esque. We have been shown one of its most picturesque 
aspects. It is true that Red Shirt would be as unusual a 
phenomenon in Broadway as in Cheapside. But the Wild 
West, for all that, is racy of the American soil. Wc can 
easily imagine Wall Street for ourselves; we need to be shown 
the cowboys of Colorado. Hence it is no paradox to say 
that Colonel Cody has done his part in bringing America and 
England nearer together. — Editorial from the London TiincSy 
November i, 1887. 

The following letters were received by Buffalo Bill from 
Gen. W. T. Sherman soon after the opening of the Wild West 

in London. 

Fifth Avenue Hotel, 

New York, May 8, 1887. 
Dear Cody: I was much pleased to receive your dis- 
patch of May 5th announcing the opening of the Wild 
West in old London, and that your first performance was 
graced by the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales. 
1 had penned a short answer to go by cable, but it fell so far 
short of my thoughts that I tore it up and preferred the old- 
fashioned letter, which 1 am sure you can afford to await. 
After your departure in the State of Nebraska I was impa- 
tient until the cable announced your safe arrival in the 
Thames, without the loss of a man or animal during the 
voyage. Since that time our papers have kept us well 
"posted," and I assure you that no one of your host of friends 
on this side of the water was more pleased to hear of your 
safe arrival and of your first exhibition than myself. I had, 
in 1872, the honor and great pleasure of meeting the Prince 
of Wales and the Princess Alexandra on board our fleet in 
Southampton Bay, and was struck by the manly, frank 
character of the prince, and the extreme beauty and grace of 
the princess. The simple fact that they honored your open- 
ing exhibition assures us ail that the English people will not 



A ROYAL WELCOME. 217 

construe your party as a show, but a palpable illustration 
of the men and qualities which have enabled the United 
States to subdue the 2,000 miles of our wild West continent, 
and make it the home of civilization. You and I remember 
the time when we needed a strong military escort to go from 
Fort Riley in Kansas to Fort Kearney on the Platte; when 
emigrants to Colorado went armed and organized as soldiers, 
where now the old and young, rich and poor, sweep across 
the plains in palace cars with as much comfort as on a ride 
from London to Edinburgh. Your exhibition better illus- 
trates the method by which this was accomplished than a 
thousand volumes of printed matter. The English people 
always have, and I hope always will love pluck and endur- 
ance. You have exhibited both, and in nothing more than 
your present venture, and I assure you that you have my best 
wishes for success in your undertaking. 

Sincerely your friend, 

W. T. Sherman. 



Fifth Avenue Hotel, 

New York, June 29, 1887. 
Hon. Wm. F. Cody, • 

London, England. 

Dear Cody: * * * Li common with all your country- 
men, I want to let you know that I am not only gratified, but 
proud of your management and general behavior; so far as 
I can make out, you have been modest, graceful, and dignified 
in all you have done to illustrate the history of civilization on 
this continent during the past century. 

I am especially pleased with the graceful and pretty com- 
pliment paid you by the Princess of Wales, who rode ni the 
Deadwood coach while it was attacked by the Indians and 
rescued by the cowboys. Such things did occur in our days, 
and may never again. 

As near as I can estimate, there were in 1865 about ftine 
and a half inilUons of buffaloes on the plains between the 



218 BUFFALO BILL. 

Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains. All are now gone — 
killed for their meat, their skins and bones. 

This seems like desecration, cruelty, and murder, yet they 
have been replaced by twice as many neat cattle. At that 
date there were about 165,000 Pawnees, Sioux, C/ieyennes, 
A'lou'as, and Arapaliocs, who depended on these buffaloes 
for their yearly food. They, too, are gone, and have been 
replaced by twice or thrice as many white men and women, 
who have made the earth to blossom as the rose, and who can 
be counted, taxed, and governed by the laws of nature and 
civilization. This change has been salutary, and will go on 
to the end. You have caught one epoch of the world's his- 
tory, have illustrated it in the very heart of the modern world 
— London — and I want you to feel that on ihis side the water 
we appreciate it. 

This drama must end; days, years, and centuries follow 
fast; even the drama of civilization must have an end. 

.Ml I aim to accomplish on this sheet of jxaper is to assure 
you that I fully recognize your work and that the presence of 
the queen, the beautiful Princess of Wales, the prince, and 
British public, are marks f)f favor which reflect back on 
America sparks of light which illuminate many a house and 
cabin in the land where onct you guided me honest/y and faith- 
fully in 1865-66 from Fort Riley to Kearney in Kansas and 
Nebraska. 

Sincerely your friend, 

W. T. Sherm.-vn. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

A VISIT FROM (1UEEN VICTORIA. 

"By command of her majesty the queen." — It must be 
understood that the queen never requests, desires, or invites 
even her own prime minister, to her own dinner-tables, but 
"commands" invariably. A special performance was given 
by the Wild West, the understanding being that her majesty 
and suite would take a private view of the performance. The 
queen, ever since the death of lier husband nearly thirty 
years ago, has cherished an invincible objection to appearing 
before great assemblages of her subjects. She visits her 
parliament seldom, the theaters never. Her latest knowledge 
of her greatest actors and actresses has been gained from 
private performances at Windsor, whither they have been 
"commanded" to entertain her, and that at very infrequent 
intervals. But, as with Mahomet and the mountain, the Wild 
West was altogether too colossal to take to Windsor, and so 
the queen came to the Wild West — an honor which was 
unique and unexampled in its character. When this visit was 
announced the public would hardly believe it, and if bets had 
been made at the clubs, the odds on a rank outsider in the 
Derby would have been nothing to the amount that would 
have been bet that it was a Yankee hoa.x. The news that her 
majesty would arrive at 5 o'clock and would require to see 
everything in an hour was in the nature of an astounding 
surprise to the management of the Wild West; but they 
determined to do the very best in their power, and that 



220 BUFFALO BILL. 

settled it. A dais for her majesty was erected and a box 
specially constructed draped with crimson velvet and deco- 
rated with orchids, leaving; plenty of accommodation for the 
attendant noblemen, antl all was made as bright and cheerful 
as possible. 

With royal punctuality the sovereign lady and her suite 
rolled up in their carriages, drove around the arena in state, 
and dismounted at the entrance to the box. The august com- 
pany included, besides her majesty, their royal highnesses 
Prince and Princess of Battenburg, the Marquis of Lome, the 
dowager Duchess of Athole, and the Hon. Ethel Cadogan, 
Sir Henry and Lady Ponsonby, Gen. Lynedoch Gardiner, 
Gol. Sir Henry Ewart, Lord Ronald Gower, and a collection 
of uniformed celebrities and brilliantly attired fair ladies, who 
formed a veritable parterre of living flowers around the tem- 
porary throne. 

During the introduction of the performers of the e.Khibi- 
tion a remarkable incident occurred which is worthy of being 
specially recorded. As usual in the entertainment the Amer- 
ican flag, carried by a graceful, well-mounted horseman, was 
introduced, with the statement that it was " an emblem of 
peace and friendship to all the world." As the standard- 
bearer, who on this occasion was Col. \\'illiani F. Cody him- 
self, waved the proud emblem above his head, her majesty 
rose from her seat and bowed deeply and impressively toward 
the banner. The whole court party rose, the ladies bowed, 
the generals present saluted, and the English noblemen took 
off their hats. Then tliere arose from the company such 
a genuine, heart-stirring American yell as seemed to shake 
the sky. It was a great event. For the fn-st time in history 
since the Declaration of Independence a sovereign of Great 



A VISIT FROM QUKEN VICTORIA. 221 

Britain had saluted the star-spangled banner — and that 
banner was carried by Buffalo Bill. It was an outward and 
visible sign of the extinction of that mutual prejudice, some- 
times almost amounting to race hatred, that had severed the 
two nations from the times of Washington and George III. 
to the present day. The hatchet was buried at last, and the 
Wild West had been at the funeral. 

The queen not only abandoned her original intention of 
remaining to see only the first acts, but saw the whole thing 
through, and wound up with a "command" that Buffalo Bill 
should be presented to her, and her compliments were delib- 
erate and unmeasured. Mr. Nate Salsbury and Chief Red 
Shirt, the latter gorgeous in his war paint and splendid 
feather trappings, were also presented. The chief's proud 
bearing seemed to take with the royal party immensely, and 
when he quietly declared that " he had come a long way to 
see her majesty, and felt glad," and strolled abruptly away, 
the queen smiled appreciatively, as one who would say, " I 
know a real duke when I see him." After inspecting the 
papooses the queen's visit came to an end, with a last "com- 
mand," expressed through Sir Henry Ponsonby, that a record 
of all she had seen should be sent on to Windsor. 

While receiving generous attention from the most promi- 
nent English people. Colonel Cody was by no means neglected 
by his own countrymen, many of whom were frequent visitors 
to the Wild West Show, and added by their presence and influ- 
ence much to the popularity of both the show and Colonel 
Cody himself. Hon. James G. Blaine, accompanied by his 
family, spent several hours in Colonel Cody's tent, and was a 
frequent visitor to the show. So also were Hon. Joseph 
Pulitzer, Chauncey M. Depew, Lawrence Jerome, Murat 



222 BUFFALO BILL. 

Halstead, General Hawley, Simon Cameron, and many other 
distinguished Americans. 

When the Hon. James G. Blaine visited the Wild West 
in London, accompanied by his wife and daughters, his 
carriage was driven through the royal gate to the grounds, 
and he was received by the English people as though he had 
been one of the royal highnesses. 

The Wild West band played the " Star Spangled Banner," 
the air so loved by all true Americans being received by the 
English audience rising, and standing while Mr. Blaine and 
party alighted from their carriage and were escorted to the 
box set aside for them. 

When thedistinguished party were seated the band played 
"Way Down in Maine" and "Yankee Doodle." After the 
entertainment, when Mr. Blaine took his departure, he was 
given three rousing cheers by the English, a tribute whicli he 
gracefully acknowledged and appreciated fully. 

So many prominent Americans, acquaintances of Colonel 
Cody, were in London at that time that it was determined to 
give them a novel entertainment that would serve the double 
purpose of regaling their appetites while affording an illustra- 
tion of the wild habits of many Lidian tribes. Li accordance 
with this resolution Gen. Simon Cameron — as the guest of 
honor- and about one luuulred other Americans, including 
those named above, were invited to a rib-roast breakfast pre- 
pared by the Lidians after the manner of their cooking when 
in their native homes. 

The large dining-tent was gorgeously festooned and 
decorated for the occasion, and all the invited guests re- 
sponded to the summons and arrived by 9 o'clock in the morn- 
ing. Before the tent a fire had been made, around which 



A VISIT FROM QUEEN VICTORIA. 233 

were grouped a number of Indian cooks. A hole had been 
dug in the ground and in this a great bed of coals was now 
made, over which was set a wooden tripod from which was 
suspended several ribs of beef. An Indian noted for his 
skill as a rib-roaster attended to the cooking by gently mov- 
ing the meat over the hot coals for nearly half an hour, when 
it was removed to the quarters and there jointed ready to be 
served. The guests were much interested in the process of 
cooking and were equally anxious to sample the product of 
Indian culinary art. The whole of the Indian tribes in camp 
breakfasted with the visitors, squatting on straw at the end of 
the long dining-tent. Some dozen ribs were cooked and 
eaten in this primitive fashion, civilized and savage methods 
of eating confronting each other. The thoroughly typical 
breakfast over, excellent speeches, chiefly of a humorous 
nature, were made by the honored guest General Cameron, 
Colonel Cody, and others of the party. The breakfast was 
supplemented by an Indian dance, and thus ended the unique 
entertainment. 

On the 2oth of June a special morning exhibition of the 
Wild West was, by further " command " from her majesty, 
given to the kingly and princely guests of Queen Victoria 
upon the occasion of her jubilee. This was the third enter- 
tainment given to royalty in private, and surely never before 
in the history of the world had such a gathering honored a 
public entertainment. The gathering of personages consisted 
of the King of Denmark, the King of Saxony, the King and 
Queen of the Belgians and the King of Greece, the Crown 
Prince of Austria, the Prince and Princess of Saxe- 
Meiningen, the Crown Prince and Princess of (jermany, 
the Crown Prince of Sweden and Norway, the Princess 



224 BUFFALO BILL. 

Victoria of Prussia, the Duke of Sparta, the Grand 
Duke Michael of Russia, Prince George of Greece, Prince 
Louis of Baden, and last, but not least, the Prince and Prin- 
cess of Wales with tlieir family, besides a great host of lords 
and ladies innumerable. 

A peculiar circumstance of the visit of Queen Victoria to 
the Wild West exhibition may be mentioned here. It was at 
the time of the queen's jubilee, and there had gathered in 
London the largest and grandest assemblage of royalty ever 
before known in the world's history, to do honor to the 
queen's reign of half a century. 

It was the day before her majesty had appointed to meet 
all the royal personages that she came face to face with them, 
all gathered together to do honor to the American entertain- 
ment of Buffalo IJiU's \\"i\(\ West; an honor indeed to the 
famous scout, and which was commented upon by the Prince 
of Wales, who referred to the great number of distinguished 
people present, and that it was made possible by the fact that 
peace reigned upon earth wiih all nations who were there 
represented. 

On this occasion the good old Deadwood coach, '* baptized 
in fire and blood " so repeatedly on the plains, had the honor 
of carrying on its time-honored timbers four kings and the 
Prince of Wales. This elicited from his royal highness the 
remark to Colonel Cody, "Colonel, you never held four kings 
like these before," to which Colonel Cody promptly and aptly 
replied, "I've held four kings, but four kings and the Prince 
of Wales makes a royal flush, such as no man ever held 
before." At this the prince laughed heartily. 



A VISIT FROM QUEEN VICTORIA. 225 

After this interesting gathering Colonel Cody received 
from Marlborough House the following letter of thanks: 

Marlhorough House, Pall Mall, S. W. 

Dear Sir: Lieut. -Gen. Sir Dighton Probyn, comptroller 
and treasurer of the Prince of Wales' household, presents his 
compliments to Colonel Cody, and is directed by his royal 
highness to forward him the accompanying pin as a souvenir 
of the performance of the Wild West which Colonel Cody 
gave before the Prince and Princess of Wales, the kings of 
Denmark, Belgium, Greece, and Saxony, and other royal 
guests, on Monday last, to all of whom, the prince desires 
Sir Dighton Probyn to say, the entertainment gave great 
satisfaction. 

London, June 22, 1887. 

This souvenir pin bore the crest and motto of the Prince 
of Wales, and readers will perhaps be familiar with the story 
of how this crest and motto [Ich dien^ "I serve") were 
wrested from the King of Bohemia at Cressy by the Black 
Prince, son of Edward HL of England. 

Few men have had such honors bestowed upon them as 
has Buffalo Bill, for he can also point with pride to a superb 
diamond crest presented him by Queen Victoria, the elegant 
pin from the Prince of Wales, while from Prince George of 
Russia he received a magnificent gold tankard of mosaic 
pattern. 

Other royal personages have also made him the recipient 
of many costly gifts, while persons in private life have shown 
their appreciation of the record he has won in many ways. 

The prince and princess and their sons and daughters were 
frequent visitors to the Wild West during its stay in London. 
Upon one occasion his royal highness determined to try the 
novel sensation of a ride in the old stage, and notwithstand- 

15 



220 BUFFALO BILL. 

ing some objection on the part of her royal husband, the 
princess also booked for inside passage and took it smilingly, 
seeming highly delighted with the experience. On one occa- 
sion the royal lady startled the managers of the show by an 
intimation that she would that evening attend the perform- 
ance incognito. The manager whose duty it was to receive 
her declared himself in a "middling tight fix" as to where 
and how to seat her. Upon her arrival, in answer to the 
question if she desired any particular position, the lady replied, 
"Certainly, yes. Put me immediately among the people. I 
like the people." The manager, with great thoughtfulness, 
ushered her into one of the press boxes, with Colonel Mon- 
tague, Mrs. Clark, and her brother the Prince of Denmark. 
Later, to his surprise, several of the newspaper boys came 
into the adjoining box, and in order to avert the latter's sus- 
picion of who the lady occupant of the box was, the manager was 
compelled to address the royal lady and her escort as "Colo- 
nel and Mrs. Jones, friends of mine from Texas." The prin- 
cess took the joke with becoming gravity, and afterward 
confessed the evening was one of the pleasantest and funniest 
she had ever spent in her life. 

And so, amid the in.iumerable social junketings, roast- 
ings, and courtly functions, added to hard work, the London 
experiences of the Wild West drew to a successful close. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE HOME TRAIL. 

From London the Wild West visited Birmingham, where it 
occupied the Aston Lower Grounds; thence to Manchester — 
"Cottonopolis," as it is endearingly called by its inhabitants — 
where the winter season was opened. Li the short space of 
two months the largest theater ever seen in the world was 
here erected by an enterprising firm of Manchester builders, 
together with a commodious building attached to it for the 
accommodation, of the troupe, whose tents and tepees were 
erected under its shelter. The whole of the structure was com- 
fortably heated by steam and illuminated by electric light. This 
building was built on the great race course, where several 
times in the course of each year it is not uncommon for 80,000 
or 100,000 persons to assemble; and the buildings in which 
Ormonde, Ben d'Or, Robert the Devil, and a thousand other 
world- famed equine wonders had taken their rest and refresh- 
ment, were now appropriated to the comfort of the broncos, 
mustangs, and other four-footed coadjutors of the Wild West. 

The first performance given in Manchester was compli- 
mentary, and the entire beauty, rank, and fashion "of Man- 
chester and the surrounding towns were invited guests. The 
mayors, town councils, corporation ofificials, prominent 
merchants and manufacturers, bishops and clergy of all 
denominations, and an able-bodied horde of pressmen came 
down in their thousands. From Liverpool, across country 
through Leeds and York to Hull and New Castle, and from 



228 BUFFALO BILL. 

Carlisle, as far south as Birmingham, everybody of conse- 
quence was present, and the immense building was filled to its 
utmost capacity. The consequence was that from the opening- 
day, and despite the dreary winter weather, the well-lighted, 
well-warmed "Temple of Buffalo Bill and Thespis" — as some- 
body called it — was constantly crowded with pleasure-seeking 
throngs. Incidentally it may be mentioned that the scores of 
requisitions from the heads of schools and charitable institu- 
tions for reduced rates for "their little waifs," was always 
met by the management of the Wild West with a courteous 
invitation for the little ones to attend the Wednesday after- 
noon performances free of charge. During their stay in "Cot- 
tonopolis " the members of the W'ild West were welcomed 
with the same ungrudging and overwhelming hospitality that 
had marked their visit to the capital. While here Colonel 
Cody was publicly presented with a magnificent rifle by the artis- 
tic, dramatic, and literary gentlemen of Manchester, and the 
event having got wind in London, the ('lite of the metroptjlitan 
literati, headed by Sir Somers Vine and including representa- 
tives of all the great American journals, securetl a special 
train and ran up to Manchester some hundred strong to grace 
the ceremony with their presence. The presentation took 
place in the arena, and afterwartl Colonel Cody invited the 
whole crowd of local celebrities and London visitors to a regu- 
lar camp dinner, with fried oysters, Boston pork and beans, 
^L'lryland chicken, and other American dishes, and a real 
Indian " rib-roast " as \.\\t piece de resistance. Tlie bancpiet 
was held in the race-course pavilion. Among the guests were 
the Mayor of Salford, a number of civic dignitaries from both 
Manchester and the neighboring borough, United States Con- 
sul Moffat of London and Consul Hale of Manchester, the 



THE HOME TRAIL. 229 

latter of whom made the speech of the evening. This dinner 
was certainly an entirely original lay-out to the visitors, and 
the comments of the English guests upon the novel and 
to them outlandish fare they were consuming were highly 
amusing to the American members of the party. To the 
Englishmen corn-cake, hominy, and other American fixings 
were a complete revelation, and the rib-roast, served in tin 
platters and eaten in the fingers, without knives or forks, was 
a source of huge wonderment. The American flag was rarely 
ever toasted more heartily by Englishmen than on that 
occasion, and for a week afterward the press of the 
country were dilating on the strange and savage doings at 
the Wild West camp. 

The afternoon of Good Friday, the consent of the direct- 
ors of the Manchester race-track having been obtained, a 
series of open-air horse races and athletic sports was per- 
formed by the members of the company — red and white — 
which included, hurdle-races, bareback horsemanship, etc. 
Notwithstanding very inclement weather during the earlier 
part of the day, an attendance of nearly 30,000 was recorded, 
and the weather cleared up and kept fine during the progress 
of the sports. 

During this visit to Manchester the Freemasons of the 
district treated Colonel Cody with marked hospitality, and he 
was a frequent visitor at their lodges. A mark of especial 
honor from this occult and powerful body was a public pres- 
entation to him of a magnificent gold watch in the name 
of the Freemasons of England. The season in Manchester 
was a grand success in every way, and the people had begun 
to regard the institution as a permanency among them; but 
their engagements in the land of the stars and stripes were 



230 BUFFALO BILL. 

as fixed and unalterable as the laws of the Medes and 
Persians, and on Monday evening, May ist, was given the 
last indoor representation in Manchester. The occasion was 
a perfect ovation. On Tuesday afternoon a benefit was ten- 
dered Colonel Cody by the race-course people. An outdoor 
performance was given, and despite the unfavorable weather 
the turn-stiles showed that nearly 50,000 people had paid 
admission to the grounds. Thus ended the Wild West per- 
formances in Manchester. 

On Friday morning, May 4th, at 11 a. m., amid the 
cheers, well-wishes, and handshaking of a vast crowd, the 
Wild West left Manchester by special train for Hull, where 
the last performance in England was given on the afternoon 
of Saturday, May 5th, and at 9 o'clock on that evening 
the entire effects of the monster aggregation were aboard the 
good ship Persian Monarch, upon which vessel, under the 
command of the brave, gcillant, and courteous Captain P>ristow, 
the ^\^ild West left for New York the next morning at 3 o'clock. 
On the homeward voyage Colonel Cody's favorite horse 
Charlie died. For fifteen years he had ridden Charlie in sun- 
shine and in storm, in days of adversity as well as prosperity, 
and to this noble animal's fleetness of foot Colonel Cody owed 
his life on more than one occasion when pursued by Indians. 

During the night of May 19th, the Persian Monarch 
arrived o(i New York harbor, and by daylight of the 20th 
steamed up toward Staten Island, v/here they were to debark. 

The arriv'al of this vessel, outside of the company's recep- 
tion, was an event of future commercial importance to the port 
of New York, from the fact of her being the first passenger- 
ship of her size, draught, and class to effect a landing (at 
Bechtel's wharf) directly on the shores of Staten Island, thus 



THE HOME TRAIL. 231 

demonstrating the marine value of some ten miles of seashore 
of what in a few short years must be a part of the greater 
New York. 

Upon the arrival of this giant combination at its home, it 
would seem that a long and undisturbed rest would have been 
natural and consequent. Such, however, was not to be the 
case. The master-mind concluded that it would be well to 
show to his own countrymen what manner of exhibition it was 
that had accomplished such wonderful results on its visit to 
Albion. A summer season was inaugurated at Erastina, S. I., 
and New York followed. In this latter city Colonel Cody 
originated, at Madison Square Garden, the now popular and 
mucti-copied idea of leviathan spectacle. Visits respectively 
to Philadelphia^ Baltimore, and Washington followed, and this 
remarkable exhibition closed, at the Richmond, Va., exposi- 
tion, a wonderful and uninterrupted season which had begun 
two years and seven months before at St. Louis, Mo. Faith- 
ful to his promises, and following his invariable custom. Colo- 
nel Cody saw that all his people, from the Texan cowboy and 
the Mexican vacquero to the Sioux warrior of Dakota, had 
safe and pleasant conduct to their homes. The realistic story 
of America had been told in the mother country, and the 
interest of Continental Europe had also been awakened. 
The returning red man, cowboy, and Mexican had had expe- 
riences and learned lessons the value of which it is impossible 
to compute, and the influence of which must perforce perme- 
ate their entire lives and broaden their thought and moral 
nature, leading to results of unbounded possibilities. The 
cowboy by the camp-fire of his prairie home, the vacquero 
among his companions in Mexico's mountains, and the red 
man in his lodge and with his people, had wonderful tales to 
tell during the winter nights of their well-earned resting-spell. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

SWINGING AROUND EUROPE. 

This man of many parts, this unique exemplification of 
the possibilities of human intellectual and physical develop- 
ment and progress, had now passed through successive, and 
with all truth it can be said, successful, gradations from the 
illiterate urchin of the rough cabin on the plains to a great 
practical educator; and the lessons taught in his magnificently 
illustrated lectures had for their object the welding together 
of human interests and the enlarging of the mutual sympathies 
of nations. I am aware that the selfish, captious, and nar- 
row-minded may see in the exhibitions and travels of the 
Wild West under Colonel Cody's leadership simply a scheme 
for personal aggrandizement or for the accumulation of great 
wealth. With the same foundation for truth, might not these 
same unworthy motives be attributed to the magnetic Edison, 
whose discoveries and inventions have startled the world into 
a wondering recognition of electric power? to Stanley, 
through whose terrible trials, weary wanderings, and perse- 
vering persistency the heart of Africa has been laid bare to 
scientific and humane investigation? to Humboldt and scores 
of other world-instructors? Such unworthy commentators, to 
whose eyes all advancement in knowledge is veneered 
with a base coating of selfish aims, are unworthy of serious 
consideration. 

In pursuance of a resolve made during his visit to Eng- 
land in 1887, Colonel Cody, in the spring preceding the Paris 



SWINGING AROUND EUROPE. 233 

Exposition, set all of his able lieutenants and coadjutors to 
work preparing- another Wild West for a trip to the French 
capital, thence through Continental Europe, and, after another 
visit to Old England, back to dear America. Under the spell 
of their leader's energetic and systematic direction, these 
trusted assistants soon had all things in complete readiness, 
and once again on board the majestic Persian Monarch, 
and under the care of that able seaman and popular officer 
Captain Bristow, the Wild West was launched upon "the 
briny," for Paris bound. 

The Wild West camp in Paris was pitched on immense 
grounds near the Porte Maillot, and the welcome extended to 
the Americans by the people of the sister republic was hearty, 
spontaneous, and grand. It was said that the audience which 
assembled on the occasion of the opening exhibition equaled 
any known in the record of prcmih'es of that brilliant capitalc 
lies deux inondes. Early in the performance the vast audi- 
ence became thoroughly enthusiastic, and every act attracted 
the closest attention and the most absorbing interest. It was 
evident thai the novel and startling display had won the full- 
est approval of the experienced sight-seers of the gay capital; 
and in France audiences rarely if ever take the middle ground. 
With them approval or commendation comes promptly and is 
quickly manifested, and the immediate triumph of the Wild 
West was a subject of hearty congratulation. As in England 
upon his first appearance there Colonel Cody was welcomed 
by those highest in authority and honor, so in France the 
initial performance was graced by the presence of the nota- 
bles of the republic. President Carnot and wife, the members 
of his cabinet, and families; two American ministers, Hon. 
Whitelaw Reid, Hon. Louis MacLean; the Diplomatic Corps, 



234 I5UFFALO BILL. 

officers of the United Slates Marine, and other prominent 
personages were among the auditors. It was an audience 
thoroughly representative of science, art, Hterature, and 
society, and the Wild West soon became second only in ])ub- 
lic interest to the great Exhibition itself. Colonel Cody soon 
became the recipient of especial social courtesies, the first of 
which was a breakfast given in his honor on May 29th by the 
Vicomte^se Chaudon de Briailles, at which the Jiattt ton of Paris 
was present. In recognition of the courtesy of the Minister 
of War in granting the Wild West the use of a large tract of 
land ill the military district, Colonel Cody invited fifty 
soldiers of the garrison of Paris to visit the show each day, a 
courtesy that was duly appreciated. 

Among the many incidents that occurred in Pari^ may be 
noted the fact that Isabella, ex-Quecn of Spain, with her com- 
panions enjoyed a ride in tlie famous old Deadwood stage- 
coach. 

Altogether the Wild West's visit to Paris, which lasted 
seven months, was a most thorough and emphatic success, 
and closed in a blaze of glory. 

It may seem strange to claim that the Wild West abroad 
was an incentive to the introduction of American subjects for 
art illustration; but the facts strongly warrant the assertion. 

It became a fad to introduce curios and bijouterie from the 
American plains and mountains. Buffalo robes of Indian tan- 
ning, bear-skins embroidered with porcupine quills, and mats 
woven in redskin camps became fashionable; while lassos, 
bows and arrows, Mexican briiUes and saddles, and other 
things from the American borderland became most popular 
as souvenirs. 

Nor was this all, for the artists took a turn at producing 




ROSA BONHEUR 5 PAINTING, "BUFFALO BILL, ON HORSEBACK.' 



230 P.UKKAI.O RILL. 

American scenes, characters, and animals, and the Indian and 
cowboy were chiseled in marble. Busts were made of Buf- 
falo Bill, the illustrated papers were full of pictures of the 
Wild West and its characters, and the comic papers were con- 
stantly caricaturing Cody and his people, some of their work 
being remarkably clever and artistic in execution. 

Invited to the studios of artists in Rome, Berlin, Paris, and 
elsewhere, Buffalo Bill extended the courtesies of his camp to 
many whose names are known the world over by their works. 
The Wild West became a central place of attraction to artists 
as well as to military men and statesmen, and often painters 
and sculptors were seen going about the camp looking for 
subjects for their brush and chisel. 

Having accepted an invitation from Rosa Bonheur to v;jit 
her at her elegant chateau, Buffalo Bill in turn extended the 
hospitalities of his camp to the famous artist, who day after 
day visited it and made studies for her pleasure, giving much 
time to sittings for a painting of Colonel Cody. 

The result was the superb painting that attracted so much 
comment abroad, and which she presented to the great front- 
iersman, who prizes it above all the souvenirs he has in his 
charming home at North Platte, where it holds the place of 
honor. 

The painting represents Buffalo Bill mounted upon his 
favorite horse, and it is needless to say that where both man 
and animal are portraits, it is a work of art coming from such 
a hand as that of Rosa Bonheur. The fact of uniting man 
and beast in a painting, giving each equal prominence, was 
never l^efore done, I believe, by this great artist, yet her hand 
did not lose its cunning in departing from the rule of her 
life, as all can testify who have seen this superb picture, 



238 BUFFALO BILL. 

With America as a vast and grand field for tbe brushes of 
EngUsh and European artists, there is little doubt that here- 
after the foreign academies will possess many works on 
American scenes and characters; and with the example thus 
set them our own artists will find in their own country mate- 
rial enough to prevent their going to other lands to get artistic 
inspiration. 

After a short tour in the south of France in the fall, a 
vessel was chartered at Marseilles, the Mediterranean crossed 
at Barcelona, landing the first band of Americans with accom- 
panying associates, scouts, cowboys, Mexican horses of 
Spanish descent, and wild buffaloes, etc., on the very spot 
where on his return to Spain landed the world's greatest 
explorer Christopher Columbus. Here the patrons were 
demonstratively eulogistic, the exhibition seeming to delight 
them greatly, savoring as it did of an addenda to their national 
history; recalling after a lapse of 400 years the resplendent 
glories of Spanish conquests under Ferdinand and Isabella, of 
llie sainted hero Cristobal Colon (1492), Columbus in America 
•(1890), '' Buffalo Bill " and the native American in Spain! 

Recrossing the Mediterranean via Corsica and Sardinia 
(encountering a tremendous storm), Naples (the placid waters 
of whose noble bay gave a welcome refuge) was reached, 
and in the shadow of old Vesuvius, which in fact formed a 
superbly grand scenic background, another peg in history was 
pinned by the visit of the cowboy and Indian to the various 
noted localities that here abound; the ruins of Herculaneum, 
Pompeii, and the great crater of "the burning mountain" 
striking wonder and awe as well as giving geological and 
geographical knowledge to the stoical "red man." 



SWINGING AROUND EUROPE. 239 

Then the "famed of the famous cities" of the world, 
Rome, was next visited, to be conquered through the gentle 
power of intellectual interest in, and the recriprocal pleasure 
exchanged by, its unusual visitors; the honor being given to 
"the outfit," as an organization, of attending a dazzling fete 
given in the Vatican by his holiness Pope Leo XIII., and of 
receiving the exalted pontiff's blessing. The grandeur of the 
spectacle, the heavenly music, the entrancing singing, and 
impressive adjuncts produced a most profound impression on 
the astonished children of the prairie. The Wild West in the 
Vatican ! 

The company were photographed in the Coliseum, which 
stately ruin seemed silently and solemnly to regret that its 
famed ancient arena was too small for this modern exhibi- 
tion of the mimic struggle between that civilization born 
and emanating from 'neath its very walls, and a primitive 
people who were ne'er dreamed of in Rome's world-contiuer- 
ing creators' wildest flights of vivid imaginings. 

Strolling through its arena, gazing at its lions' dens, or 
lolling lazily on its convenient ruins, hearing its interpreted 
history of Romulus, of Caesar, and of Nero, roamed this band 
of Wild West Sioiix (a people whose history in barbaric deeds 
equals, if not excels, the ancient Romans'), now hand-in-hand 
in peace and firmly cemented friendship with the American 
frontiersman, once gladiatorial antagonists on the Western 
plains. They, listening to the tale, on the spot, of those whose 
"morituri te salutant " was the short prelude to a savage 
death, formed a novel picture in a historic frame. The Wild 
West in the Coliseum! 

The following extracts from cablegrams sent to the New 
York Herald by its special correspondent, tell of interesting 



SWINGING AROUND EUROPE. 841 

occurrences that happened during the visit of the Wild West 
to the historic city of Rome: 

Rome, March 4, 1890. 

All Rome was to-day astir over an attempt of Buffalo Bill's 
cowboys with wild horses, which were provided for the occa- 
sion by the Prince of Sermoneta. 

Several days past the Roman authorities have been busy 
with the erection of specially cut barriers for the purpose of 
keeping back the wild horses from the crowds. 

The animals are from the celebrated stud of the Prince of 
Sermoneta, and the prince himself declared that no cowboy in 
the world could ride these horses. The cowboys laughed over 
this surmise and then offered at least to undertake to mount 
one of them, if tliey might choose it. 

Every man, woman, and child expected that two or three 
people would be killed by this attempt. 

The anxiety and enthusiasm was great. Over 2,000 car- 
riages were ranged round the field and more than 20,000 
people lined the spacious barriers. Lord Dufferin and many 
other diplomatists were on the terrace, and among Romans 
were presently seen the consort of the Prime Minister Crispi, 
the Prince of Torlonia, Madame Depretis, Princess Collona, 
Gravina Antonelli, the Baroness Reugis, Princess Brancaccia, 
Grave Giannotti, and critics from among the highest aris- 
tocracy. 

In five minutes the horses were tamed. 

Two of the wild horses were driven without saddle or 
bridle in the arena. Buffalo Bill gave out that they would be 
tamed. The brutes made springs into the air, darted hither 
and thither in all directions, and bent themselves into all sorts 
of shapes — but all in vain. 

In five minutes the cowboys had caught the wild horses 
with the lasso, saddled, subdued, and bestrode them. Then 
the cowboys rode them round the arena, while the dense 
crowds of people applauded with delight. 

16 



SWINGING AROUND EUROPE. 243 

BUFFALO BILL IN VENICE. 

(By Telegraph, New York Herald.) 

Venice, April i6, 1890. 

Buffalo Bill and his Wild West have made a big show in 
Venice. This evening the directors have a special invitation 
on the Grand Canal, where the whole troupe will be shown. 
Colonel Cody is taken by the Venetian prefect in his own 
private residence. No one can think them ordinary artistes 
after they have seen the gathering of different Indians in 
gondolas, or seen the wonderful sight which presents itself at 
the Venetian palace and in the little steamboats that ply 
between the pier of St. Mark and the railway station. 

Tliousands of Venetians assemi)led yesterday in Verona, 
where the company of the municipal authorities of justice 
have allowed the use of the amphitheater, or the so-called 
arena, one of the most interesting structures of Italy, and 
a rival of the Coliseum of Rome itself. 

Forty-five thousand persons can conveniently find sitting- 
room in this arena, and for standing-room there is also 
extensive space. As his royal highness Victor Emanuel was 
on a visit here once, 60,000 people were accommodated in it. 
It is, perhaps, interesting to know that this building is the 
largest in the world, although the Wild West Show quite 
filled it. 

The amphitheater (arena) was built in the year 290 A. D., 
under Diocletian, and is known in Germany as the Home of 
the Dietrich of Bern. It is 106 feet high, 168 meters long, 
and 134 meters broad (the arena itself is S;^ meters long, 48 
meters broad); the circumference is 525 meters. In the sur- 
rounding amphitheater (entering by the west side through 
arch No. 5, admission i franc, Sunday free), are five-and- 
forty rows of steps 18 inches high, 26 inches broad, built of 
gray, or rather reddish-yellow, limestone, where nearly 20,000 
spectators can find places, and where many more people can 
see by standing on the wooden benches behind them. From an 



244 BUFFALO BILL, 

inscription on the second story it will be remembered that 
Napoleon I. visited this place in 1805. The restoration of 
the building was by recommendation of that emperor. A 
wonderful view is obtained from the higher steps. 



THE WILD WEST AT THE VATICAN. — BUFFALO BILL S INDIANS 
AND COWBOYS AT THE ANNIVERSARY CEREMONY OF LEO 
XIII. 

New York Herald, March 4, 1S90. — (From our Special 
Correspondent.) Rome, March 3d. 

One of the strangest spectacles ever seen within the walls 
of the Vatican was the dramatic entry of Buffalo Bill at the 
head of his Indians and cowboys this morning, when the 
ecclesiastical and secular military court of the Holy See 
assembled to witness the twelfth annual thanksgiving of I^eo 
XIH. for his coronation. In the midst of the splendid scene, 
crowdeil with the old Roman aristocracy and surrounded by 
walls immortalized by Michael Angelo and Raphael, there 
suddenly appeared a host of savages in war-paint, feathers, 
and blankets, carrying tomahawks and knives. 

A vast multitude surged in the great square before St. 
Peter's early in the morning to witness the arrival of the 
Americans. Before half-past 9 o'clock the Ducal Hall, Royal 
Hall, and Sistine Chapel of the Vatican were packed with those 
who had influence enough to obtain admittance. Through 
the middle of the three audiences the pathway was bordered 
with the brilliant uniforms of the Swiss Guards, Palatine 
Cuards, papal gendarmes, and private chamberlains. The 
sunlight fell upon the lines of glittering steel, nodding plumes, 
golden chains, shimmering robes of silk, and all the blazing 
emblems of jiontifical power and glory. 

TIIK WILD WEST MAKE THEIR ENTREE. 

Suddenly a tall and chivalrous figure appeared at the 
entrance, and all eyes were turned toward him. It was 



SWINGING AROUND EUROPE. 245 

Col. W. F. Cody, "Buffalo Bill." With a sweep of his 
great sombrero he saluted the chamberlains, and then strode 
between the guards with his partner, Mr. Nate Salsbury, by 
his side. 

Rocky Bear led the Sioux warriors, who brought up 
the rear. They were painted in every color that Indian 
imagination could devise. Every man carried something 
with which to make big medicine in the presence of the 
great medicine man sent by the great spirit. 

Rocky Bear rolled his eyes and folded his hands on 
his breast as he stepped on tiptoe through the glowing sea 
of color. His braves furtively eyed the halbreds and two- 
handed swords of the Swiss Guards. 

The Indians and cowboys were ranged in the south cor- 
ners of the Ducal Hall. Colonel Cody and Mr. Salsbury were 
escorted into the Sistine Chapel by chamberlains, where they 
were greeted by Miss Sherman, daughter of General Sherman. 
A princess invited Colonel Cody to a place in the tribune of 
the Roman nobles. 

He stood facing the gorgeous Diplomatic Corps, surrounded 
by the Prince and Princess Borghesi, the Marquis Serlupi, 
Princess Bandini, Duchess di Grazioli, Prince and Princess 
Massimo, Prince and Princess Ruspoli, and all the ancient 
noble families of the city. 

THE PAPAL BLESSING. 

When the Pope appeared in the sedia gestatoria, carried 
above the heads of his guards, preceded by the Knights of 
Malta and a procession of cardinals and archbishops, the cow- 
boys bowed, and so did the Indians. Rocky Bear knelt 
and made the sign of the cross. The pontiff leaned affec- 
tionately toward the rude groups and blessed them. He 
seemed to be touched by the sight. 

As the papal train swept on the Indians became excited, 
and a squaw fainted. They had been warned not to utter a 
sound, and were with difficulty restrained from whooping. 



246 BUFFALO lUI.I,. 

Tlie I'opc looked at Colonel Cody intently as he passed, and 
the great scout and Indian fighter bent low as he received the 
pontifical benediction. 

After the thanksgiving mass, with its grand choral accom- 
paniment and now and then the sound of Leo XIII. 's voice 




POPE LEO XIII. 

heard ringing througli the cliai)cl, the great audience poured 
out of the Vatican. 

Among the many verses written of and to the noted scout, 
the following may be given as a poet's idea of his visit to 
Rome : 



SWINGING AROUND EUROPE. 247 

BUFFALO BILL AND THE ROMANS. 

I'll take my stalwart Indian braves 

Down to the Coliseum, 
And the old Romans from their graves 

Will all arise to see 'em ; 
Pretors and censors will return 

And hasten through the Forum, 
The ghostly Senate will adjourn 

Because it lacks a quorum. 

And up the ancient Appian way 

Will flock the ghostly legions, 
From Gaul unto Calabria, 

And from remoter regions ; 
From British bog and wild lagoon, 

And Libyan desert sandy, 
They'll all come, marching to the tune 

Of " Yankee Doodle Dandy." 

Prepare the triumph car for me 

And purple throne to sit on. 
For I've done more than Julius C. — 

He could not down the Briton! 
Csesar and Cicero shall bow, 

And ancient warriors famous, 
Before the myrUe-bandaged brow 

Of Buffalo Williamus. 

We march, unwhipped, through history — 

No bulwark can detain us — 
And link the age of Grover C. 

And Scipio Africanus. 
I'll take my stalwart Indian braves 

Down to the Coliseum, 
And the old Romans from their graves 

Will all arise to see 'em. 

Artistic Florence, practical Bologna, grand and stately 
Milan, and unique Verona were next added to the list. Ve- 
rona's superb and well-preserved Arena, excelling in 
superficial area the Coliseum and holding 45,000 people, was 
especially granted for the Wild West's use. The Indians were 



-^CP 




SWINGING AROUND EUROPE. 249 

taken by Buffalo Bill to picturesque Venice, and there shown 
the marvelous results of the ancient white man's energy and 
artistic architectural skill. They were immortalized by the 
camera in the ducal palace, St. Marc's Piazza, and in the 
strange street vehicle of the Adriatic's erstwhile pride — the 
gondola; contributing another interesting object tesson to 
the distant juvenile student members of their tribe, to testify 
more fully to their puzzled senses the fact of strange sights 
and marvels whose existence is to be learned in the breadth 
of knowledge. 

Moving via Innsbruck through the beautifully scenic 
Tyrol, the Bavarian capital, Munich, with its naturally artistic 
instincts, gave a grand reception to the beginning of a mar- 
velously successful tour through German land, which included 
Vienna (with an excursion on the " Blue Danube "), Berlin, 
Dresden, Leipsic, Magdeburg, Hanover, Brunswick, Hamburg, 
Bremen, Dusseldorf, Cologne, along the Rhine past Bonn, 
Coblentz, '' Fair Bingen on the Rhine," to Frankfort, Stutt- 
gart, and Strasburg. These historic cities, with all their 
wealth of legendary interest, art galleries, scientific conserva- 
tories, educative edifices, cathedrals, modern palaces, ancient 
ruins, army maneuverings, fortifications, commercial and 
varied manufacturing and agricultural industries, and the 
social, genial, friendly, quiet customs of its peoples, should 
form good instruction to the rugged rovers of the American 
plains — heirs to an empire as much more vast in extent and 
resources as is the brightness of the diamond — after the skill 
expended by the lapidary — in dazzling brilliancy to the rude, 
unpolished stone before man's industry lends value to its 
existence. 

At Strasburg the management decided to close temporarily 



250 BUFFALO BILL. 

this extraordinary tour and winter the company. Although 
in the proximity of points contemplated for a winter campaign 
(southern France and the Riviera), this was deemed advis- 
able on account of the first and only attack from envious 
humanity that the organization had encountered. This matter 
necessitated the manly but expensive voluntary procedure of 
taking the Indians to America to meet face to face and deny 
tlie imputations of some villifiers, whom circumstances of 
petty political "charity" and '' I-am-ism" and native buoyancy 
permit at times to float temporarily on the surface of a cos- 
mopolite community, and to whose ravings a too credulous 
public and press give hearing. 

Tlie quaint little village of IJenfield furnislied an ancient 
nunnery and a castle with stables and good range. Here the 
little community of Americans spent the winter comfortably, 
being feasted and feted by the inhabitants, whose esteem they 
gained to such an extent tiiat tiicir departure was marked by 
a general holiday, assisting hands, and such public demonstra- 
tions of regret that many a rude cowboy when once again 
careering o'er the pampas of Texas will rest his weary steed 
while memory reverts to the pleasant days and whole-souled 
friendships cemented at the foot of the Vosges Mountains in 
disputed Alsace-Lorraine. 

In Alsace-Lorraine! whose anomalous i)osition menaces 
tlie peace not only of the two countries interested but of the 
civilized world; whose situation makes it intensely even 
sadly interesting as the theater of that future human tragedy 
for which the ear of mankind strains day and night, listening 
for detonations from the muzzles of the acme of invented 
mechanisms of destruction. The lurid-garbed Angel of 
Devastation hovers, careering through the atmosphere of the 



SWINGING AROUND EUROPE. 251 

seemingly doomed valley, gaily laughing, shrieking exultingly, 
at the white-robed Angel of Peace as the latter gloomily 
wanders, prayerful, tearful, hopelessly hunting, ceaselessly 
seeking, the return of modern man's boasted newly created 
gods — Equity, Justice, Reason! 

What a field for the vaunted champions of humanity, the 
leaders of civilization! What a neighborhood wherein to sow 
the seeds of " peace on earth and good-will to men." What a 
crucible for the universal panacea, arbitration! What a test 
of the efficacy of prayer in damming up the conflicting torrents 
of ambition, cupidity, passion, and revenge, which threaten 
to color crimson the swift current of the Rhine, until its 
renown as the home of wealth and luxury be eclipsed by 
eternal notoriety as the Valley of Death! 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE LAST INDIAN WAR. 



Leaving the temporary colony under the charge of his 
dirct:tor-partner Mr. Nate Salsbury (whose energy found 
occupation in attending to the details of the future), Colonel 
Cody and the Indians departed for America, arriving safely, 






^^m:::-J^-^,.:::r> 



-t^TOAIAlO,WJlOMJill,SrPRK?NJ:5.S.HiLLC0.Mt iiRE£ J;me,[^^v- 



V.iii,it- 



I nTi'sliinoih-XSTicn'of, 



':-.^>tu^; 



^Ha^ljffly 



/^•'-^•/.-.iiZ 






jrfrir^iHlriti 



and after refuting satisfactorily, by the Indians themselves, 
the base slanders that emanated in the imagination of noto- 
riety-seeking busy-bodies, i)roceedcd to the seat of the Indian 
difficulties in the distant State of Dakota. 

(25:2) 



Stata of Nebraska 

Executive Departti^nt 
General W.F.Cody. 

Lincoln January Gth 1891, 
Rushville . Nebraska. 

J! 

My Dear General . 

As you are a member of my Staff,! have detailed you 
for special service; the particular nature of which, was Diade known dur 
-ing our conversation. 

You wil] proceed to the scene of the Indian troubles, and comrauni- 
cate with General Miles. 

You will in addition to the special service rcfersd to, please 
visit t-he different tCA-nSjif tinie perrp.it .along the line of the Elkhom 
Rail -Road, and use your influence to quiet e.xcitement and remove appre- 
hensions upon the part of the people. 

Please call upon General Colby, and give him your views as to the 
probability of the Indians breaking tln-ough the cordon of regular troc 
-ps ; your superior knowledge of Indian character and mode of warfare, 
ni.5y enable you to make suggesticr.s of importance. 

All Officers af;d members of tho State Troops, and all others,wiIl 
please extend to yon every courtesy. 

In testimony whereof, 







254 BUFFALO BILL. 

In this campaign against the Indians Buffalo Bill rendered 
valuable services and was ordered to the command of General 
Colby of the National Guard of the State of Nebraska, and 
to report to General Miles, the commander-in-cliief. 

His authority for going to the front is shown by the 
accompanying appointment and order from the governor. 

Had the Indian uprising broken out into a general war, 
Buffalo Bill would have had the opportunity to show the 
world what he could do as a general officer, handling a num- 
ber of men in action; but fortunately the splendidly con- 
ceived and executed maneuvers of General Miles, the com- 
mander-in-chief, prevented the outbreak from extending to 
all the tribes, and put down the rebellious savages with little 
bloodshed, thus saving a long and cruel war upon the 
frontier. 

The letter given herewith from General Miles, at the con- 
clusion of the campaign, shows the appreciation by General 
Miles of Buffalo Bill's services, and which met the general 
approbation of the press of the country, many correspond- 
ents being upon the field; wiiile Colonel Cody's telegrams to 
the New York Herald and Sun give a most thorough expla- 
nation of the situation. 

AS BUri'ALO BILL SEES IT. HE THINKS IT LOOKS LIKE PEACE 

IN IIIK INDIAN COUNTRY. 

Buffalo Bill telegraphs to the New York Herald ix ova. Pine 

Ridge Agency: 

Pine Ridge Agency, Dak., 
In the Field, via courier to telegraph. 
New York Herald: Your request for my opinion of the 
Indian situation is, by reason of the complications and the 
changeable nature of the red man's mind and action, a 



H_1:AL)QUAR'11-RS "^^VlblON OF THL MISSOIKI, 
VjMlCACO. 1 1.L1N015. 
In the Field, Pine Ridge, S.D., January 31,1891 

Brig. General W. F. Cody, 

Nebraska National. Guard, Present. 
Sir:- 

I am glad to inform you that the entire body of Indians are 
now camped near here (within a rr.ile and a half). They show every 
disposition to comply with the orders of the authorities. Nothing 
but an accident can prevent peace being re-established, and it 
will be our ambition to make it of a permanent character. I feel 
that the state troops can now be withdrawn with safety, and desire 
through you to express to them my thanXs for the confidence Ihey 
have given your people in their isolated homes. 

Like information has this day been given General Colby. 
Very respectfully yours, . y 

Major oeneral Commanding 



256 BUFFALO BILL, 

puzzler. Every hour brings out a new opinion. Indian 
history furnishes no similar situation. 

You must imagine about five thousand Indians, an unusual 
proportion warriors, better armed than ever known before, 
hemmed in by a cordon, about sixteen miles in diameter, com- 
posed of over three thousand troops, acting like a slowly 
closing drag-net. This mass of Indians is now influenced by 
a percentage as despairingly desperate and fanatical as the 
late Big Foot party under Short Bull and Kicking Bear. 
It contains also restrained neutrals, frightened and disaffected 
Ogalallas, hampered by the powerful Brules, backed by 
renegades and desperadoes from all other agencies. There 
are al)out twenty-five hundred acting and believed to be 
friendly Indians in and around the agency. 

Such is the situation General Miles and the niiUtary con- 
front. Any one of this undisciplined mass is able to jirecipi- 
tate a terrible conflict from the most unexpected quarter. 
Each of the component quantities is to be watched, to be 
measured, to be just to. In fact it is a war with a most wily 
and savage people, yet the whites are restrained by a humane 
and peaceful desire to prevent bloodshed and save a people 
from themselves. It is like cooling and calming a volcano. 
Ordinary warfare shows no parallel. General Miles seems to 
hold a firm grip on the situation. The Indians know him, 
express confidence in his honor, truth, and justice to them, 
and they fear his power and valor as well. 

As the matter now stands, he and ihey shouki be allowed, 
untrammeled even by a suggestion, to settle the affair, as no 
one not on the spot can appreciate the fearfully delicate posi- 
tion. The chaff must be sifted from the wheat, ami in ihis 
instance the chaff must be threshed. 

At the moment, as far as words go, I would say it will be 
peace, but the smoldering spark is visible that may precipi- 
tate a terrible conflict any time in the next few days. How- 
ever it ends, more and prompt attention should be paid in the 
future to the Sioux Indian — his rights, his complaints, and even 



THE LAST INDIAN WAR. 257 

his necessities. Respect and consideration should also be 
shown for the gallant little army, for it is the Indian and 
soldier who pay the most costly price in the end. I think it 
looks like peace, and if so the greater the victory. 

W. F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill"). 



THE SITUATION IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY A MARVEL OF 
MILITARY STRATEGY, 

Col. W. F. Cody (" Buffalo Bill "), who is at Pine Ridge, 
telegraphs the following for the New York Sun^ which 
expresses his views of the present critical situation: 

The situation to-day, so far as military strategy goes, is 
one of the best-marked triumphs known in the history of 
Indian campaigns. It speaks for itself, for the usual inci- 
dents to an Indian warfare, such as raids on settlers and 
widespread devastation, have been wholly prevented. Only 
one white man has been killed outside the military circle. The 
presiding genius and his able aids have acted with all the 
cautious prowess of the hunter in surrounding and placing in 
a trap his dangerous game, at the same time recognizing the 
value of keeping the game imprisoned for future reasons. I 
speak, of course, of the campaign as originally intended to 
overawe and pacify the disaffected portion of the Ogalallas, 
Wassaohas, and Brules, the Big Foot affair at Wounded Knee 
Creek being an unlooked-for accident. 

The situation to-day, with a desperate band corralled and 
the possibility of any individual fanatic running amuck, is 
most critical, but the wise measure of holding them in a 
military wall, allowing them time to quiet down and listen to 
the assurances of such men as Young-Man-Afraid-of-His- 
Horses, Rocky Bear, No Neck, and other progressive Indians, 
relieves the situation, so that unless some accident happens 
the military end of the active warfare seems a complete, 
final, and brilliant success, as creditable to General Miles' 
17 




THREE CiENERAI lONb. 



THE LAST INDIAN WAR. 259 

military reputation as it is to the humane and just side of his 
character. 

Neither should praise be withheld from Generals Brooke, 
Carr, Wheaton, Henry, Forsythe, and the other officers and 
men of the gallant little army, who stood much privation. 
In every instance when I have heard them speak they have 
expressed great sympathy for their unhappy foe and regrets 
for his impoverished and desperate condition. They and 
the thoughtful people here are now thinking about the future. 
In fact the Government and nation are confronted by a 
problem of great importance as regards remedying the exist- 
ing evils. 

The larger portion of the Ogalalla Sioux have acted 
nobly in this affair, especially up to the time of the stampede. 
The Wassaohas and Ilrules have laid waste the reservation of 
the Ogalallas, killed their cattle, shot their horses, pillaged 
their houses, burned their ranches; in fact, poor as the 
Ogalallas were before, the Brules have left nothing but the 
bare ground, a white sheet instead of a blanket, with a winter 
at hand, and the little accumulations of thirteen years swept 
away. This much, as well as race and tribal dissensions and 
personal enmity, have they incurred for standing by the 
Government. These people heed as much sympathy and 
immediate assistance as any section of country when great 
calamities arouse the sympathy of the philanthropist and the 
Government. This is now the part of the situation that to me 
seems the most remarkable. Intelligent and quick legislation 
can now do more than the bullet. 

William F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill"). 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

BACK TO EUROPE. 

After peace was restored Buffalo Bill secured Govern- 
ment authority and selected a band of Indians— composed 
equally of the " active friendly," headed by Chiefs Long 
Wolf, No Neck, Yankton Charley, Black Heart, and the 
"band of hostages " held by the military under Gen. Nelson 
A. Miles at Fort Sheridan, and headed by the redoubtable 
Short Bull, Kicking Bear, Lone Bull, Scatter, and Revenge — 
for a .short European tour, and they left Philadelphia in the 
chartered Red Star steamer Switzerland. The significance 
of this fact should still forever the tongue of those who, 
without rhyme, truth, or reason, have tried to stain a fair 
record, which has been justly earned; and by its very 
prominence, pei'haps, difficult to maintain. 

Coming direct from the snow-clad hills and blood-stained 
valley of the Mauvaise Tcrre of last winter's central point of 
interest, it can not be denied that an added chapter to Indian 
history, and the Wild West's province of truthfully exhibiting 
the same, is rendered more valuable to the student of primi- 
tive man, and to the ethnologist's acquaintance with the 
strange people whose grand and once happy empire (plethoric 
in all its inhabitants needed) has been (rightfully or wrong- 
fully) brought thoroughly and efficiently under the control of 
our civilization, or (possibly more candidly confessed) under 
the Anglo-Saxon's commercial necessities. It occurs to the 
writer that our boasted civili/aiion has a wonderful adapta- 



BACK TO EUROPE. 261 

bility to the good soils, the productive portions, and the rich 
mineral lands of the earth, while making snail-like pace and 
intermittent efforts among the frigid haunts of the Esqui- 
maux, the tangled swamps of Africa, and the bleak and 
dreary rocks of Patagonia. 

A sentimental view is thus inspired, when long personal 
association has brought the better cjualities of the Indian to 
one's notice, assisting somewhat to dispel the prejudices 
engendered by years of savage, brutal wars, conducted with 
a ferocious vindictiveness foreign to our methods. The sav- 
ageness of Indian warfare is born in the victim, and probably 
intensified by the instinctive knowledge of a despairing weak- 
ness that renders desperate the fiery spirit of expiring resist- 
ance, which latter (in another cause) might be held up for a 
courage and tenacity as bright as that recorded in the pages 
dedicated to the heroes of Thermopylae. 

After all, in what land, in what race, nationality, or com- 
munity can be found the vaunted vestal home of assured 
peace? And where is human nature so perfected that circum- 
stances might not waken the dormant demon of man's innate 
savageness? 

But then again the practical view of the non-industrious 
use of nature's cornucopia of world-needed resources and 
the inevitable law of the survival of tJie fittest xawaX. bring the 
"flattering unction to the soul " of those to whom the music 
of light, work, and progress is the charm, the gauge of exist- 
ence's worth, and to which the listless must hearken, the indo- 
lent attend, the weak imbibe strength from — whose ranks the 
red man must join, and advancing with whose steps march 
cheerily to the tune of honest toil, industrious peace, and 
placid fireside prosperity. 



262 BUFFALO BILL. 

Passing through the to them marvelous experience of the 
railroad and ils flying express train; the sight of towns, vil- 
lages, cities, over valley, plain, and mountains to the magic 
floating /loiise (the steamer); sadly learning, while struggling 
with the t/ial de mcr, the existence of the "big waters," that 
tradition alone had bruited to incredulous ears, was passed 
the first portion of a tempestuous voyage. Its teachings were 
of value in bringing to the proud spirits of the self-reliant 
Dakotans the terrible power of nature, and of white man's 
marvelous skill, industry, and ability in overcoming the dan- 
gers of the deep; the reward of patience being found in a 
beautifully smooth approach to land. The Scilly Islands and 
a non-fog-encumbered journey up the English Channel — 
unusually bright witli sunshine; the grand panorama of Eng- 
land's majestic shores, her passing fleet of all kinds of marine 
architecture, the steaming up the river Scheldt, with its dyked 
banks and the beautifully cultivated fields, opened to the mar- 
veling nomad his first edition of Aladdin, and landed him — 
wonderingly surprised at the sight of thousands of white men 
peacefully greeting his arrival — in the busy commercial mart 
of Antwerp. 

After introducing the Indians to hotel life for the first 
time, a tour of the city was made, among the notable points 
visited being the cathedral, which grand edifice aroused their 
curiosity; the grand picture, Rubens' " Descent from the 
Cross," bringing to the minds of all — white men, "friendlies," 
and " hostiles" — the " Messiah craze "; an interest intensified 
by the fact that the aesthetic-looking Short Bull and some of 
the others had been t'.ie leading fanatical believers (probably 
even apparently conscientious), promoters, and disciples of 
the still mysterious religious disease that lately agitated the 



BACK TO EUROPE. 263 

Indian race in America. In fact, after tlie death of Sitting 
Bull the central figures of this strange belief were Sliort 
liiill as the religious leader and Kicking Bear as the war 
chief. Grouped together with Scatter, Revenge, and 
others, in mootly contemplation of this subject, was the late 
defier of a mighty nation of 65,000,000 people, nearly all of 
whom teacii or preach the truthfulness of the picture's tradi- 
tions. A man in two short months transported from the 
indescribably desolate, almost inaccessible natural fortresses 
of the Bad Lands [Maiivaisc Tcrrc) of Dakota to the ancient 
city of Antwerp, gazing spellbound on the artistic reproduc- 
tion by the renowned artist of the red man's late dream, " I'he 
Messiah." Respect for his thoughts and the natural stoical 
nature of the Indian leaves to future opportunity an interest- 
ing interrogative of what passed through the mind of the 
subtle chief. Suffice it to say that surprise at the white man's 
many-sided character and the greatness of his resources in 
the past and present was beginning to dawn more and more 
on the new tourists. Arriving the ne.\t day at Strasburg, 
mtroduction to the cowboys, the camp life, the cathedral, the 
great clock, the fortifications, etc., was followed by the delight 
of each brave on receiving his pony, and once more with his 
trusty friend the horse, the Ogalalla and Brule in a few days 
felt as though '• Richard were himself again." 

Joining more heartily than was expected in the mimic 
scenes of the Wild West, soon the ordinary routine of daily 
duties seemed a pleasant diversion. A grand reception in 
Strasburg, the tour resumed to Carlsruhe, Mannheim — inchul- 
ing a visit to Heidelberg Castle, Mayence, Wiesbaden, 
Cologne (the Rhine legends of Lurline, etc., giving interest 
to the Peau Rouge, en route), Dortmund, Duisburg, Crefeld, 



204 BUFFALO RILL. 

and Aix-la-Chapelle, terminated a tour of Germany filled with 
the most pleasant recollections. The tomb of Charlemagne 
(Carolo Magno)! The history of this great warrior was inter- 
preted to attentive ears, a lesson being instilled by the relation 
that after all his glory, his battles, triumphs, and conquests 
in which he defeated the dusky African prototypes of the 
present visitors to his tomb, peace brought him to pursue 
knowledge, to cultivate the arts and sciences, and that after a 
hundred years of entombment his body was found by Otto 
the Saxon sitting erect upon a granite throne, the iron crown 
upon his head, imperial scepter in right hand, while his left 
rested on an open volume of Holy Scriptures, the index 
finger pointed to the well-known passage, "What will it profit 
a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" 
Here by the grave of the founder of Christianity stood the 
latest novitiates to its efforts, who may yet, in following its 
teaching, it is hoped, make such progress through ils aid and 
education as to furnish one of their race capable of holding 
the exalted chieftainship, the presidency in their native land 
— the Empire of the West. Who can say? Why not? 

Belgium — Brussels its Baris — brings vividly to mind, in its 
semblance of language, people, habits, beauty, wealth, culture, 
and appreciation, remembrance of our delightful sojourn in 
the capital of (how truly named) la belle France. Visit 
Waterloo! From Bine Ridge to historic Waterloo! The 
courteous treatment and repeated visits and kindly interest of 
that most amiable lady the queen — an enthusiastic horse- 
woman — her pleasant reference to London in the Jubilee year, 
combined to increase the gratitude the Wild West voyagers 
felt for the treatment everywhere received in Europe since, 
in 1887, the Wild AVest invaded old England and pitched 



266 BUFFALO BILL. 

their tents in the world's metropolis, London. So after a 
short season in Antwerp the motley cargo set sail across the 
North Sea to make a farewell visit to their cousins of the isle, 
revel in a common language (bringing a new pleasure to the 
ear), hoping to deserve and receive a continuance of that 
amicable api)reciation of their humble efforts that the past 
seemed to justify. 

Returning to England was ne.xt to going home to the 
wild Westerners, after wandering through foreign lands, and 
they were welcomed as though indeed "cousins" in the real 
sense of the word. 

A tour was made which was most extensive, for exhibitions 
were given in Leeds, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, 
Shefifield, Sioke-on-Trcnt, Nottingham, Leicester, Cardiff, 
Bristol, Portsmouth, Glasgow, and then back to London, 
where Colonel Cody gave a special entertainment in the 
grounds of Windsor Castle before the (pieeii and her invited 
guests. 

It was upon this occasion that Buffalo Bill was honored 
with the presentation of an elegant souvenir from the queen, 
while Mr. Salsbury and the writer were also remembered with 
handsome gifts from her majesty. 



CONCLUSION. 

I'lius concluded the second tour in Europe. The Wild 
West had been received and treated with marked kindness by 
every nation, every city, and by persons of every rank and of 
every station — press, public, and officials. Every one had 
shown a willingness to lend a helping hand and displayed a 
fraternal interest and general appreciation toward them and 




UKrtvt ijh [Mt iNUIAN CHIEF LONG WOLF, AT WEST BROMPTON 
CEMETERY, LONDON. 



268 BUFFALO BILL. 

their country's flag, so that returning home it is a pleasant 
duty to record the same, believing that in presenting their 
rough pictures of a " history almost passed away " some 
moiety of good may have been done in simplifying the work 
of liie historian, the romancer, the painter, and the student of 
the future, and in exemplifying in themselves and their expe- 
riences the fact that ''travel is the best educator," and that 
association and acquaintanceship dispel prejudice, create 
breadth of thought, and enhance api:)reciation of the truism 
that "one touch of nature makes the whole world akin." 



APPENDIX. 

Col. W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) and the London Work- 
ingmen's Association. 

On Saturday evening, October i, 1892, a conference of 
delegates from the various branches of the London Working- 
men's association was held at the Wild West, when an illumi- 
nated address was presented to Col. W. F. Cody. 

The chair was occupied by Mr. George Potter, president 
of the association, who was supported by Mr. Fred Whetstone, 
vice-president; Mr. F. Wigington, treasurer; Mr. Robert 
Wilson, secretary. There was a large attendance. 

Colonel Cody was accompanied by Maj. John M. Burke 
and Mr. Nate Salsbury. 

Mr. George Potter, in presenting the address which con- 
gratulated Buffalo Bill on the splendor of his show, its value 
from an educational standpoint, and the success which had 
attended his visit, now fast drawing to a close, said that those 
whom he represented admired the colonel's pluck and appre- 
ciated his indomitable courage. He had taught us a lesson 
which would not be forgotten, and Buffalo Bill would ever be 
a household word with us. (Loud cheers.) Mr. Potter and 
those with him expressed the hope that after Buffalo Bill had 
visited the World's Fair at Chicago and settled down in his 
own country to dwell among his own people, he would enjoy 
the remainder of his life in contentment, prosperity, and 
peace. (Loud cheers.) 

Mr. Potter then read the following address: 
Col. IV. F. Cody: 

Sir: The members of the London Workingmen's Associa- 
tion, representing large bodies of workingmen, have a friendly 



^70 BUFFALO BILL. 

word to say at a time when your visit to this country is fast 
drawing to a close. 

They desire to approach you in a spirit of congratulation 
and to place on record their thorough appreciation of the 
enterprise and ability displayed by you in tlie conception and 
creation of the brilliant realistic spectacle known as the Wild 
West, fully realizing its magnitude and its value from an 
educational standpoint as a vivid picture of past life on the 
American frontier. 

To those whose domestic cares and necessities prevent 
them enjoying the luxury of travel and its acknowledged 
advantages in forming proper ideas of foreign peoples and 
strange races, your enterprise has brought not only entertain- 
ment for the moment, but has enabled thousands to enjoy 
more fullv the books, histories, paintings, and sculpture that 
come under their observation. This alone is something of 
future value to every nation you have visited (among all 
classes), as well as the fraternal feeling of the general brother- 
hood of man that your introduction of national and racial 
differences in one body for mutual instruction produces. 

Neither the costly outlay through which these results 
have been effected by the difficulties of presenting the best 
specimens of these primitive i)eoples, nor the talent displayed 
by the performers, could have secured the enormous audi- 
ences, had not careful attention been paid to fidelity of depic- 
tion, the mastery of detail, and ample provision for the com- 
fort of the public. 

That the marked success of the undertaking is in a large 
measure due to your own personal supervision affords an 
additional ground for offering our meetl of congratulation to 
you as a workingman. 

With this we couple our sincere hope that upon your future 
retirement you may find, in well-earned repose, no reason to 
regret your visits to England of 1887 and 1892 ; and you 
may rest assured you carry with you the good wishes of the 
millions whom you have so liberally entertained. 
We are, on behalf of the association, 

George Potter, President, 
Fred Whetstone, Vice-President, 
F. WiGiNGTON, Treasurer, 
Robert Wilson, Secretary. 
14 Fetter Lane, Tondon. 

October i, 1892. 



APPENDIX. 271 

Mr. Fred Whetstone (late chairman of the Amalgamated 
Society of Engineers), in supporting the address, expressed 
a wish from the bottom of his heart that the colonel would 
have a safe and glorious passage and a successful career in 
Chicago. (Loud cheers.) 

Colonel Cody said he deeply felt the honor they had 
bestowed upon him in the kindly expressions contained in the 
address they had presented him with that evening. To deserve 
their good-will was a source of satisfaction greater than mere 
words could express. (Cheers.) He hoped that time and 
opportunity would enable him to extend to them an American 
hospitality in his own land, where sunshine and prosperity met 
men in every walk of life. (Cheers.) He hoped they would 
excuse him, for he was very ill, but presently he would try to 
come up smiling, whether he felt it or not. (lA)ud cries of 
"Bravo.") 

The delegates than sat down to a substantial tea, after 
which the following toasts were proposed: 

Mr. Robert Wilson (secretary to the association) in a very 
interesting speech proposed " Health and Prosperity to Mr. 
Nate Salsbury." This was seconded by Mr. T. V. Lind of 
the East End organizations, and supported by Mr. Thomas 
Cornish, mining engineer. The toast was accepted with loud 
cheers and accompanietl with musical honors. 

Mr. Nate Salsbury, who was most enthusiastically received, 
responded in a powerful and eloquent speech, in which he 
referred to the friendly feelings that existed between the 
peoples of England and America, and concluded by express- 
ing his pleasure at being present that evening. 

Mr. F. Wigington (of the lightermen and watermen of 
the River Thames) proposed " Health and Prosperity to Maj. 
John M. Burke," which was seconded by Mr. Thomas Arm- 
strong (patternmakers), supported by Mr. H. Le Fevre 
(president of the Balloon Society), and carried with acclama- 
tion. 



2'i[2 BUFFALO BILL. 

Major Burke, who was received with great cordiality, 
responded in a humorous and interesting speech, which was 
heartily received. 

During the evening each member was presented with a 
portrait of Buffalo Bill, bearing his autograph; after which 
they witnessed a performance of the Wild West Show, and 
altogether enjoyed a most pleasant entertainment. 



AN EPISODE SINCE THE RETURN 
FROM EUROPE. 



When abroad Buffalo Bill heard so many officers of ihe 
army of France, England, and other countries ask about the 
Wild West of America, its game and wonderful scenery, that 
he extended an invitation to a number of gentlemen of rank 
and title to join him, with others from this country, on an 
extended expedition to the Grand Caiion of the Colorado, 
and thence on through Arizona and Utah to Salt Lake City 
on horseback. 

Various causes prevented many from accepting the invita- 
tion, but a number assembled at Scout's Rest Ranch, the home 
of Colonel Cody at North Platte, Neb., and started upon the 
long and adventurous trail of a thousand miles in the saddle. 
The following are those who went on the expedition: 

Col. W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill); Col. Frank D. Baldwin, 
U. S. Army; Col. W. H. MacKinnon, Grenadier Guards, Eng- 
land; Maj. St. John Mildmay, Grenadier Guards; Col. Allison 
Nailor, Washington, D. C; Alaj. John J\I. Burke (Arizona 
John); Col. Prentiss Ingraham, Washington, D. C; Hon. 
George P. Everhart, Chicago, 111.; Elder Daniel Seigmiller, 
Utah; Elder Junius Wells, Utah; Robert H. Haslam (Pony 
Bob); Horton S. Boal, Nebraska; Edward Bradford, Denver, 
Colo.; William B. Dowd, New York; John Hance, Guide of 
Grand Caiion of the Colorado. 

18 (273) 




3UFFAL0 BILL'S LASSO TO THE RESCUE 



AN EPISODE SINCE THE RETURN FROM EUROPE. J375 

Going by rail to Denver, then down into New Mexico to 
Flagstaff, Arizona, the party found there a wagon outfit and 
iiorses, with an escort of nearly half a hundred Mormon 
scouts, guides, and cowboys. 

They took the trail to the Grand Canon of the Colorado, 
hunting as they went along, then by a long flank movement 
through the Navajo Country, they crossed at Lee's Ferry, 
thence going on to the Kaibal Mountains, viewing the grand- 
est scenery on earth, and enjoying the sport of hunting bear, 
mountain lions, mountain sheep, elk, deer, antelope, turkey, 
ducks, and catching fine trout and other fish. 

Caught in several blizzards on the mountains, and follow- 
ing unknown trails, many perilous adventures were met with 
on the expedition, but fortunately no life was lost, though one 
adventure well nigh proved fatal to Major Mildmay of the 
Grenadier Guards, giving an opportunity to Colonel Cody 
to show his nerve in sudden danger and his skill with a lasso 
as well, for, but for his quick act, horse and rider would have 
run over a precipice a couple of thousand feet down to the 
valley below. 

The expedition left the trail at Salt Lake City and returned 
via Wyoming and Colorado, back to the East, thus ending 
Colonel Cody's last trail upon the frontier, though if there 
should occur another border war, he would at once be found 
at his old post. 

THE END. 



WRITINGS OF 



JVIARAH ELLIS RYAN 

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